BX  6495  .S7  A24  v. 2 
Spurgeon,  C.  H.  1834-1892. 
The  autobiography  of  Charle 
H.  Spurgeon 

V/.Z 


C    H.   SPURGEON'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


MAR    4 


1975 


'O^f^ 


'ia^iuL  st'*\»^ 


THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


OF 


CHARLES  H.  SPURGEON 


COMPILED  FROM 


HIS   DIARY,  LETTERS,  AND   RECORDS 

BY 

HIS  WIFE 
HIS  PRIVATE  SECRETARY 


"T/ie  law  of  truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  iniqicity  was  not  found  in  his  lips ;  he  walked  with 
Me  in  peace  and  equity,  and  did  turn  7/iany  away  from  iniquity." —  malachi  ii.  6 


VOL.  II.     18^4-1860 


CHICAGO    NEW  YORK    TORONTO 
FLEMING    H.    REVELL    COMPANY 

1899 


CONTENTS    OF   VOL.    II. 


Chapter 

XXXIV.  LovE;  Courtship,  and  Marriage 

XXXV.         „  „  „  „  (Coutiuued)... 

XXXVI.  „  „  „  „  (Concluded)... 

XXXVII.  E.ARLv  Criticisms  and  Slanders 
XXXVIII.  „  „  „  „  (Contimtcd)... 

XXXIX.  First  Literary  Friends  ... 

XL.         ,,  ,,  „         (Coiitinncd) 

XLI.  "In  Labours  More  Abundant"... 
XLII.  „  „  „  „  (Contimied)     ... 

XLIII.  First  Visit  to  Scotland... 

XLIV.  Marvellous  Increase. — Facts  and  Figures   ... 

XLV.  Seeking  the  Souls  of  Men 

XLVI.  A  New  School  of  the   Prophets 

XLVII.  First  Printed  Works. — Author,   Publishers,   and 

XL\'III.  Early  Wedded  Life 
XLIX.  ,,  ,,  ,,      (Continued) 

L.  The    Great    Catastrophe   at   the    Surrey  Garden 
Hall    ... 

LI.  Later  Services  at  the  Music   Hall    ... 

LI  I.  \"arving  Voices — Pro  and   Con  ... 

LI  1 1.  The  "Down-grade"  Controversy  Foreshadowed 

LI\'.  "Helensburgh  House"  and  Garden    ... 

LV.  ,,  ,,  ,,  ,,  (Continued) 

LVI.  Early  Pastoral  Epistles 

LVII.  Building  "Our  Holy  and  Beautiful  House" 

LVIII.  Week-day  Services,    1858 — 1860 

LIX.  Meeting  in  the  Unfinished  Tabernacle 


Readers 


Music 


ILLUSTRATIONS    IN    VOL.    II. 


Page 


Pastor  James  Smith 

Mr.  Willia.m   P.  Olney  ... 

Facsimiles  of  Lovers'  Keepsakes 

Our  Trvsting-place 

iMv  Brixton  Home 

Page  from   Family  Bible 

Rev.  Charles  W.aters  Banks 

Rev.  James  Wells 

The  Slow  Coach  {Caricature) 

The  Fast  Train  ,, 

Mr.  James  Grant... 

Rev.   Edwin  Paxton  Hood 

Rev.  Thomas  Binney,  ll.d. 

C.   H.  SruRGEON  Preaching  at  Exeter  Hall,   February,   1855 

Rev.  John  Anderson,   Helensburgh 

C.   H.  Spurgeon  in  the  Pulpit  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel 

Group  of  Baptist  Ministers  (about   1856)    ... 

Pastor  T.   W.    Medhurst 

Rev.  C.   H.   Hosken 

Mill  Road  Collegiate  School,   Bexley   Heath,   Kent     ... 

Rev.  George  Rogers 

Our  College  Motto 

C.   H.  Spurgeon  and  Mr.  Joseph  Pass.more,   1857    ... 

Mr.  James  Alabaster 

Messrs.    Passmore  &  Alabaster's  Printing  and  Publishing  Of. 

Exterior  of   La  Sainte  Chapelle,  Paris 

Interior 


ILLUSTRATIONS    IN    VOL.    II. 


Church  of  St.  Germ.-vin  L'Auxerrois,   Paris 

C.   H.  Spurgeon  in  his  Study  ... 

The  Library  at  "  Westwood  "  ... 

Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall, — Exterior 

The  Old  Conductor  {Caricature) 

The  New  Conductor 

C.   H.   Spurgeon  Preaching  in  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall 

C.    H.   Spurgeon  Preaching  at  the  Crystal  Palace 

The    Young    Lion   of   the    Day   and   the    Funny    Old    Woman   of   the 
Day  ( Caricature)    ... 

C.    H.    Spurgeon    in    Centre    of    Group    of    193    Ministers   and   other 
Celebrities 

Nightingale  Lane,  Clapham,  from  Sketch  by  R.   E.  Sherrin    ... 

Husband  and  Wife  in  the  Garden     ... 

"Helensburgh  House,"  Nightingale  Lane  (P'ront  View) 

,,  ,,  ,,  ,,       (B.A.CK  View)  ... 

Father  and  Sons  in  the  Garden 
Husband  and  Wife  at  Home  ... 
"Dick' 

The  Garden  where  the  Font  Stood... 
The  Fishmongers'  Almshouses,   Newington  Butts... 
The  Accepted  Design  for  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle 
The  Metropolitan  Tabernacle 

Sir  Samuel  Morton   Peto,   Bart.,   M.P.  ' 

The  Baptistery  and  Platform,   Metropolitan  Tabernacle 

Interior  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  Viewed  from  the  Area 

The  Pastor's  Vestry 

The  Deacons'  Room 

The  Elders'  Room 

Facsimile  of  Calvin  Medal  Presented  to  Mr.   Spurgeon  at  Geneva 

The  Pulpit,  St.   Peter's  Cathedral,  Geneva 


C.    H.    SPURGEON'S    AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 


iD&c,  Courtsljip,  anil  Jlaningt. 


)Y    Mrs.    C.    H     Spurgeon. 


HEN  I  came  to  deal  with  the  sacred  and  deHcate  task  of  writing 
the  following  chapters,  to  record  the  events  of  the  years  1854  and 
1855,  two  courses  only  seemed  to  open  before  me; — the  one,  to 
conceal,  as  gracefully  as  possible,  under  conventional  phraseology 
and  common-place  details,  the  tender  truth  and  sweetness  of  our 
mutual  love-story  ; — the  other,  to  write  out  of  the  fulness  of  my 
very  soul,  and  suffer  my  pen  to  describe  the  fair  visions  of  the  past  as,  one  by  one, 
they  grew  again  before  my  eyes  into  living  and  loving  realities.  I  chose  the 
latter  alternative,  I  felt  compelled  to  do  so.  My  hand  has  but  obeyed  the 
dictates  of  my  heart,    and,    I   trust  also,  the  guidance  of  the   unerring  Spirit. 

It  may  be  an  unusual  thing  thus  to  reveal  the  dearest  secrets  of  one's  past 
life  ;  but  I  think,  in  this  case,  I  am  justified  in  the  course  I  have  taken.  My 
husband  once  said,  "  You  may  write  my  life  across  the  sky,  I  have  nothing  to 
conceal  ;  "  and  I  cannot  withhold  the  precious  testimony  which  these  hitherto  sealed 
pages  of  his  history  bear  to  his  singularly  holy  and  blameless  character. 

So,  I  have  unlocked  my  heart,  and  poured  out  its  choicest  memories.  Some 
people  may  blame  my  prodigality  ;  but  I  am  convinced  that  the  majority  of 
readers  will  gather  up,  with  reverent  hands,  the  treasures  I  have  thus  scattered, 
and  find  themselves  greatly  enriched  by  their  possession. 

It  has  cost  me  sighs,  and  multiplied  sorrows,  as  I  have  mourned  over  my 
vanished  joys  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  drawn  me  very  near  to  "  the  God 
of  all  consolation,"  and  taught  me  to  bless  Him  again  and  again  for  having  ever 
given   me   the   priceless   privilege   of  such   a  husband's  love. 


2  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

Many  years  ago,  I  read  a  most  pathetic  story,  which  is  constantly  recalled 
to  mind  as  the  duties  of  this  compilation  compel  me  to  read  the  records  of  past 
years,  and  re-peruse  the  long-closed  letters  of  my  beloved,  and  live  over  again 
the  happy  days  when  we  were  all-in-all  to  each  other.  I  do  not  remember  all 
the  details  of  the  incident  which  so  impressed  me,  but  the  chief  facts  were 
these.  A  married  couple  were  crossing  one  of  the  great  glaciers  of  Alpine 
regions,  when  a  fatal  accident  occurred.  The  husband  fell  down  one  of  the  huge 
crevasses  which  abound  on  all  glaciers, — the  rope  broke,  and  the  depth  of  the 
chasm  was  so  great  that  no  help  could  be  rendered,  nor  could  the  body  be 
recovered.      Over  the  wife's  anguish  at  her  loss,  we  must  draw  the  veil  of  silence. 

Forty  years  aftervv^ards  saw  her,  with  the  guide  who  had  accompanied  them 
at  the  time  of  the  accident,  staying  at  the  nearest  hotel  to  the  foot  of  the 
glacier,  waiting  for  the  sea  of  ice  to  give  up  its  dead  ;  for,  by  the  well-known 
law  of  glacier-progression,  the  form  of  her  long-lost  husband  might  be  expected 
to  appear,  expelled  from  the  mouth  of  the  torrent,  about  that  date.  Patiently, 
and  with  unfailing  constancy,  they  watched  and  waited,  and  their  hopes  were 
at  last  rewarded.  One  day,  the  body  was  released  from  its  prison  in  the  ice, 
and  the  wife  looked  again  on  the  features  of  him  who  had  been  so  long  parted 
from  her! 

But  the  pathos  of  the  story  lay  in  the  fact  that  she  was  then  an  old  woman, 
while  the  newly-rescued  body  was  that  of  quite  a  young  and  robust  man,  so 
faithfully  had  the  crystal  casket  preserved  the  jewel  which  it  held  so  long.  The 
forty  years  had  left  no  wrinkles  on  that  marble  brow.  Time's  withering  fingers 
could  not  touch  him  in  that  tomb  ;  and  so,  for  a  few  brief  moments,  the  aged 
lady  saw  the  husband  of  her  youth,  as  he  was  in  the  days  which  were  gone 
for  ever  ! 

Somewhat  similar  has  been  my  experience  while  preparing  these  chapters. 
I  have  stood,  as  it  were,  at  the  foot  of  the  great  glacier  of  Time,  and  looked 
with  unspeakable  tenderness  on  my  beloved  as  I  knew  him  in  the  days  of  his 
strength,  when  the  dew  of  his  youth  was  upon  him,  and  the  Lord  had  made  him  a 
mighty  man  among  men.  True,  the  cases  are  not  altogether  parallel,  for  I  had 
my  beloved  with  me  all  the  forty  years,  and  we  grew  old  together  ;  but  his  seven 
years  in  glory  seem  like  half  a  century  to  me  ;  and  now,  with  the  burden  of 
declining  years  upon  me,  I  am  watching  and  waiting  to  see  my  loved  one 
again, — not  as  he  was  forty  years  or  even  seven  years  ago,  but  as  he  will  be  when 
I  am  called  to  rejoin  him  through  the  avenue  of  the  grave,  or  at  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  all  His  saints.  So  I  am  waiting,  and  "looking  for 
that  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ." 


C.      H.      SI'UKGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRAniV.  3 

The  first  time  I  saw  my  future  husband,  he  occupied  the  pulpit  of  Xew 
Park  Street  Chapel  on  the  memorable  Sunday  when  he  preached  his  first 
sermons  there.  I  was  no  stranger  to  the  place.  Many  a  discourse  had  I  there 
listened  to  from  Pastor  James  Smith  (afterwards  of  Cheltenham),— a  quaint  and 
ruocred  preacher,  but  one  well  versed  in  the  blessed  art  of  bringing  souls  to 
Christ.      Often    had    I    seen     him    administer    the    ordinance     of    baptism     to    the 


PASTOR   JAMES   SMITH. 

candidates,    wondering    with    a    tearful    longing    whether    I    should    ever    be    able 
thus    to    confess    my    faith    in    the    Lord    Jesus. 

I  can  recall  the  old-fashioned,  clapper  figure  of  the  senior  deacon,  of  whom 
I  stood  very  much  in  awe.  He  was  a  lawyer,  and  wore  the  silk  stockings  and 
knee-breeches  dear  to  a  former  generation.  When  the  time  came  to  give  out 
the  hymns,  he  mounted  an  open  desk  immediately  beneath  the  pulpit ;  and  from 
where  I  sat,  I  had  a  side  view  of  him.     To  the  best  of  mv  remembrance,  he  was 


4  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHV. 

a  short,  stout  man,  and  his  rotund  body,  perched  on  his  undraped  legs,  and 
clothed  in  a  long-tailed  coat,  gave  him  an  unmistakable  resemblance  to  a 
gigantic  robin  ;  and  when  he  chirped  out  the  verses  of  the  hymn  in  a  piping, 
twittering  voice,    I   thought  the  likeness  was  complete  ! 

Well  also  did  I  know  the  curious  pulpit  without  any  stairs  ;  it  looked  like 
a  magnified  swallow's-nest,  and  was  entered  from  behind  through  a  door  in  the 
wall.  My  childish  imagination  was  always  excited  by  the  silent  and  "  creepy " 
manner  in  which  the  minister  made  his  appearance  therein.  One  moment  the 
big  box  would  be  empty, — the  next,  if  1  had  but  glanced  down  at  Bible  or  hymn- 
book,  and  raised  my  eyes  again, — there  was  the  preacher,  comfortably  seated, 
or  standing  ready  to  commence  the  service  !  I  found  it  very  interesting,  and 
though  I  knew  there  was  a  matter-of-fact  door,  through  which  the  good  man 
stepped  into  his  rostrum,  this  knowledge  was  not  allowed  to  interfere  with,  or 
even  explain,  the  fanciful  notions  I  loved  to  indulge  in  concerning  that 
mysterious  entrance  and  exit.  It  was  certainly  somewhat  singular  that,  in  the 
very  pulpit  which  had  exercised  such  a  charm  over  me,  I  should  have  my  first 
glimpse  of  the  one  who  was  to  be  the  love  of  my  heart,  and  the  light  of  my 
earthly  life.  After  Mr.  Smith  left,  there  came,  with  the  passing  years,  a  sad 
time  of  barrenness  and  desolation  upon  the  church  at  New  Park  Street  ;  the 
cause  languished,  and  almost  died  ;  and  none  even  dreamed  of  the  overwhelming 
blessing  which  the  Lord  had  in  store  for  the  remnant  of  faithful  people 
worshipping    there. 

From  my  childhood,  I  had  been  a  greatly-privileged  favourite  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Olney,  Senr.  ("  Father  Olney "  and  his  wife),  and  I  was  a  constant  visitor 
at  their  homes,  both  in  the  Borough  and  West  Croydon,  and  it  was  by  reason 
of  this  mutual  love  that  I  found  myself  in  their  pew  at  the  dear  old  chapel  on 
that  Sabbath  evening,  December  i8th,  1853.  There  had  been  much  excitement 
and  an.xiety  concerning  the  invitation  given  to  the  country  lad  from  Waterbeach 
to  come  and  preach  in  the  honoured,  but  almost  empty  sanctuary  ;  it  was  a 
risky  experiment,  so  some  thought  ;  but  I  believe  that,  from  the  very  first 
sermon  he  heard  him  preach,  dear  old  "  Father  Olney's  "  heart  was  fixed  in  its 
faith  that  God  was  going  to  do  great  things  by  this  young   David. 

When  the  family  returned  from  the  morning  service,  varied  emotions  filled 
their  souls.  They  had  never  before  heard  just  such  preaching  ;  they  were 
bewildered,  and  amazed,  but  they  had  been  fed  with  royal  dainties.  They  were, 
however,  in  much  concern  for  the  young  preacher  himself  who  was  greatly 
discouraged  by  the  sight  of  so  many  empty  pews,  and  manifestly  wished  himself 
back   again    with    his    loving    people,    in    his    crowded    chapel    in    Cambridgeshire- 


C.      H.      SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  5 

"  What  can  be  done  ?  "  good  Deacon  Olney  said  ;  "  we  must  oet  him  a  better 
congregation  to-night,  or  we  shall  lose  him  ! "  So,  all  that  Sabbath  afternoon, 
there  ensued  a  determined  looking-up  of  friends  and  acquaintances,  who,  by 
some  means  or  other,  were  coaxed  into  giving  a  promise  that  they  would  be  at 
Park  Street  in  the  evening  to  hear  the  wonderful  boy  preacher.  "And  little 
Susie  must  come,  too,"  dear  old  Mrs.  Olney  pleaded.  I  do  not  think  that  "little 
Susie "  particularly  cared  about  being  present  ;  her  ideas  of  the  dignity  and 
propriety  of  the  ministry  were  rather  shocked  and  upset  by  the  reports  which  the 
morning  worshippers  had  brought  back  concerning  the  young  man's  unconventional 
outward  appearance!  However,  to  please  my  dear  friends,  I  went  with  them, 
and  thus  was  present  at  the  second  sermon  which  my  precious  husband  preached 
in  London. 

Ah  !  how  little  I  then  thought  that  my  eyes  looked  on  him  who  was  to 
be  my  life's  beloved  ;  how  little  I  dreamed  of  the  honour  God  was  preparing 
for  me  in  the  near  future  !  It  is  a  mercy  that  our  lives  are  not  left  for  us  to 
plan,  but  that  our  Father  chooses  for  us  ;  else  might  we  sometimes  turn  away 
from  our  best  blessings,  and  put  from  us  the  choicest  and  loveliest  gifts  of 
His  providence.  For,  if  the  w^hole  truth  be  told,  I  was  not  at  all  fascinated 
by  the  young  orator's  eloquence,  while  his  countrified  manner  and  speech 
excited  more  regret  than  reverence.  Alas,  for  my  vain  and  foolish  heart !  I 
was  not  spiritually-minded  enough  to  understand  his  earnest  presentation  of  the 
gospel,  and  his  powerful  pleading  with  sinners  ; — but  the  huge  black  satin  stock, 
the  long,  badly-trimmed  hair,  and  the  blue  pocket-handkerchief  with  white  spots, 
which  he  himself  has  so  graphically  described, — these  attracted  most  of  my 
attention,  and,  I  fear,  awakened  some  feelings  of  amusement.  There  was  only 
one  sentence  of  the  whole  sermon  which  I  carried  away  with  me,  and  that  solely 
on  account  of  its  quaintness,  for  it  seemed  to  me  an  extraordinary  thing  for  the 
preacher  to  speak  of  the  "  living  stones  in  the  Heavenly  Temple  perfectly  joined 
together  with  the  vermilion  cement  of   Christ's  blood." 

I  do  not  recollect  my  first  introduction  to  him  ;  it  is  probable  that  he  spoke  to 
me,  as  to  many  others,  on  that  same  Sabbath  evening ;  but  when  the  final 
arrangement  was  made  for  him  to  occupy  New  Park  Street  pulpit,  with  a  view 
to  the  permanent  pastorate,  I  used  to  meet  him  occasionally  at  the  house  of  our 
mutual   friends,   Mr.   and   Mrs.   Olney,   and    I   sometimes  went  to  hear  him  preach. 

I  had  not  at  that  time  made  any  open  profession  of  religion,  though  I  was 
brought  to  see  my  need  of  a  Saviour  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  S.  B. 
Bergne,  of  the  Poultry  Chapel,  about  a  year  before  Mr.  Spurgeon  came  to 
London.  He  preached,  one  Sunday  evening,  from  the  text,  "The  word  is  nigh 
thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thv  heart"  (Romans  x.  8),  and  from  that  service  I 


6  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

date  the  dawning  of  the  true  light  in  my  soul.  The  Lord  said  to  me,  through 
His  servant,  "Give  Me  thine  heart,"  and,  constrained  by  His  love,  that  night 
witnessed  my  solemn  resolution  of  entire  surrender  to  Himself.  But  I  had  since 
become  cold  and  indifferent  to  the  things  of  God  ;  seasons  of  darkness,  despond- 
ency, and  doubt,  had  passed  over  me,  but  I  had  kept  all  my  religious  ex- 
periences carefully  concealed  in  my  own  breast,  and  perhaps  this  guilty  hesitancy 
and  reserve  had  much  to  do  with  the  sickly  and  sleepy  condition  of  my  soul 
when  I  was  first  brought  under  the  ministry  of  my  beloved.  None  could  have 
more  needed  the  quickening  and  awakening  which  I  received  from  the  earnest 
pleadings  and  warnings  of  that  voice, — soon  to  be  the  sweetest  in  all  the  world 
to   me. 

Gradually   I    became  alarmed   at   my   backsliding    state,    and   then,   by   a   great 
effort,    I    sought    spiritual    help  and  guidance    from    Mr.    William   Olney   ("  Father 


MR,    WILLIAM    P.  OLNEY. 


Olney's  "  second  son,  and  my  cousin  by  marriage),  who  was  an  active  worker  in 
the  Sunday-school  at  New  Park  Street,  and  a  true  Mr.  Greatheart,  and  comforter 
of  young  pilgrims.  He  may  have  told  the  new  Pastor  about  me, — I  cannot 
say  ; — but,  one  day,  I  was  greatly  surprised  to  receive  from  Mr.  Spurgeon  an 
illustrated  copy  of  The  Pilgrim  s  Progress,  in  which  he  had  written  the  inscription 
which  is  reproduced  in  facsimile  on  the  following  page  : — 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


^    A^.  A 


I  do  not  think  my  beloved  had,  at  that  time,  any  other  thought  concerning 
me  than  to  help  a  struggling  soul  Heavenward  ;  but  I  was  greatly  impressed 
by  his  concern  for  me,  and  the  book  became  very  precious  as  well  as  helpful. 
By  degrees,  though  with  much  trembling,  I  told  him  of  my  state  before  God  ; 
and  he  gently  led  me,  by  his  preaching,  and  by  his  conversations,  through  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  the  cross  of  Christ  for  the  peace  and  pardon 
mv  weary  soul  was  longing  for. 

Thus  things  went  quiedy  on  for  a  little  while  ;  our  friendship  steadily  grew, 
and  I  was  happier  than  I  had  been  since  the  days  at  the  Poultry  Chapel  ;  but 
no  bright  dream  of  the  future  flashed  distinctly  before  my  eyes  till  the  day  of 
the  opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace  at  Sydenham,  on  June  lo,  1854.  A  large 
party  of  our  friends,  including  Mr.  Spurgeon,  were  present  at  the  inauguration,  and 
we  occupied  some  raised  seats  at  the  end  of  the  Palace  where  the  great  clock 
is  now  fixed.  As  we  sat  there  talking,  laughing,  and  amusing  ourselves  as  best 
we  could,  while  waiting  for  the  procession  to  pass  by,  Mr.  Spurgeon  handed 
me  a  book,  into  which  he  had  been  occasionally  dipping,  and,  pointing  to  some 
particular  lines,  said,  "What  do  you  think  of  the  poet's  suggestion  in  those 
verses?"  The  volume  was  Martin  Tupper's  Provei^bial  Philosophy,  then  recently 
published,  and  already  beginning  to  feel  the  stir  of  the  breezes  of  adverse 
criticism,  which  afterwards  gathered  into  a  howling  tempest  of  disparagement 
and  scathing  sarcasm.  No  thought  had  I  for  authors  and  their  woes  at  that 
moment.  The  pointing  finger  guided  my  eyes  to  the  chapter  on  "  Marriage," 
ot  which   the  opening  sentences  ran  thus, — 

"  Seek  a  good  wife  of  thy  God,  for  she  is  the  best  gift  of  His  providence ; 
Yet  ask  not  in  bold  confidence  that  which  He  hath  not  promised : 
Thou  knowest  not  His  good  will  ;  be  thy  prayer  then  submissive  thereunto, 
And  leave  thy  petition  to  His  mercy,  assured  that  He  will  deal  well  with  thee. 
If  thou  art  to  have  a  wife  of  thy  youth,  she  is  now  living  on  the  earth  ; 
Therefore  think  of  her,  and  pray  for  her  weal." 


b  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

"  Do  you  pray  for  him  who  is  to  be  your  husband  ? "  said  a  soft  low  voice  in  my 
ear, — so  soft  that  no  one  else  heard  the  whisper. 

I  do  not  remember  that  the  question  received  any  vocal  answer  ;  but  my  fast- 
beating  heart,  which  sent  a  tell-tale  flush  to  my  cheeks,  and  my  downcast  eyes,  which 
feared  to  reveal  the  light  which  at  once  dawned  in  them,  may  have  spoken  a 
language  which  love  understood.  From  that  moment,  a  very  quiet  and  subdued 
little  maiden  sat  by  the  young  Pastor's  side,  and  while  the  brilliant  procession  passed 
round  the  Palace,  I  do  not  think  she  took  so  much  note  of  the  glittering 
pageant  defiling  before  her,  as  of  the  crowd  of  newly-awakened  emotions  which 
were  palpitating  within  her  heart.  Neither  the  book  nor  its  theories  were  again 
alluded  to,  but  when  the  formalities  of  the  opening  were  over,  and  the  visitors  were 
allowed  to  leave  their  seats,  the  same  low  voice  whispered  again,  "  Will  you  come 
and  walk  round  the  Palace  with  me  .'' "  How  we  obtained  leave  of  absence  from  the 
rest  of  the  party,  I  know  not ;  but  we  wandered  together,  for  a  long  time,  not  only 
in  the  wonderful  building  itself,  but  in  the  gardens,  and  even  down  to  the  lake, 
beside  which  the  colossal  forms  of  extinct  monsters  were  being  cunningly  modelled. 
During  that  walk,  on  that  memorable  day  in  June,  I  believe  God  Himself  united 
our  hearts  in  indissoluble  bonds  of  true  affection,  and,  though  we  knew  it  not,  gave 
us  to  each  other  for  ever.  From  that  time  our  friendship  grew  apace,  and  quickly 
ripened  into  deepest  love, — a  love  which  lives  in  my  heart  to-day  as  truly,  aye,  and 
more  solemnly  and  strongly  than  it  did  in  those  early  days  ;  for,  though  God  has 
seen  fit  to  call  my  beloved  up  to  higher  service.  He  has  left  me  the  consolation  of 
still  loving  him  with  all  my  heart,  and  believing  that  our  love  shall  be  perfected 
when  we  meet  in  that  blessed  land  where  Love  reigns  supreme  and  eternal. 

It  was  not  very  long  (August  2,  1854,)  before  the  sweet  secret  between  us 
was  openly  revealed.  Loving  looks,  and  tender  tones,  and  clasping  hands  had  all 
told  "  the  old,  old  story,"  and  yet,  when  the  verbal  confession  of  it  came,  how 
wonderful  it  was  !  Was  there  ever  quite  such  bliss  on  earth  before  ?  I  can  see  the 
place  where  the  marvel  was  wrought,  as  plainly,  at  this  distance  of  over  forty  years, 
as  I  saw  it  then.  It  was  in  a  little,  old-fashioned  garden  (my  grandfather's),  which 
had  high  brick  walls  on  three  sides,  and  was  laid  out  with  straight,  formal  gravel 
paths,  and  a  small  lawn,  in  the  midst  of  which  flourished  a  large  and  very  fruitful 
pear  tree, — the  pride  of  old  grandad's  heart.  Rather  a  dreary  and  unromantic  place, 
one  would  imagine,  for  a  declaration  of  love  ;  but  people  are  not  particularly  careful 
as  to  the  selection  of  their  surroundings  at  such  a  moment,  and  do  not  often  take 
pains  to  secure  a  delightful  background  to  the  picture  which  will  for  ever  be  photo- 
graphed on  their  hearts.  To  this  day,  I  think  of  that  old  garden  as  a  sacred  place, 
a   paradise   of   happiness,  since  there  my  beloved  sought  me  for  his  very  own,  and 


C.      H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY.  9 

told  me  how  much  he  loved  me.  Though  I  thought  I  knew  this  already,  it  was  a 
very  different  matter  to  hear  him  say  it,  and  I  trembled  and  was  silent  for  very  joy 
and  gladness.  The  sweet  ceremony  of  betrothal  needs  no  description  ;  every  loving 
and  true  heart  can  fill  up  the  details  either  from  experience  or  anticipation.  To  me,  it 
was  a  time  as  solemn  as  it  was  sweet  ;  and,  with  a  great  awe  in  my  heart,  I  left  my 
beloved,  and  hastening  to  the  house,  and  to  an  upper  room,  I  knelt  before  God,  and 
praised  and  thanked  Him,  with  happy  tears,  for  His  great  mercy  in  giving  me  the  love 
of  so  good  a  man.  If  I  had  known,  then,  hoiv  <goo6.  he  was,  and  how  great  he  would 
become,  I  should  have  been  overwhelmed,  not  so  much  with  the  happiness  ot  being 
his,  as  with  the  responsibility  which  such  a  position  would  entail.  But,  thank  God, 
throughout  all  my  blessed  married  life,  the  perfect  love  which  drew  us  together  never 
slackened  or  faltered  ;  and,  though  I  can  now  see  how  undeserving  I  was  to  be  the 
life  companion  of  so  eminent  a  servant  of  God,  I  know  he  did  not  think  this,  but 
looked  upon  his  wife  as  God's  best  earthly  gift  to  him. 


/*--■■; 


<o 


---'^ 


J 


FACSIMILES   OF   LOVERS'    KEEPSAKES. 


In  the  diary  I  then  kept,  I  find  this  brief  but  joyful  entry: — "August  2,  1S54. — 
It  is  impossible  to  write  down  all  that  occurred  this  morning.  I  can  only  adore  in 
silence  the  mercy  of  my  God,  and  praise  Him  for  all  His  benefits." 

After  our  engagement,  we  met  pretty  constantly  ;  I  attended  the  services  at 
New  Park  Street  Chapel  as  often  as  possible,  and  on  February  i,  1855,  I  was 
baptized  there  by  my  beloved,  upon  my  profession  of  repentance  towards  God,  and 
faith   in   our    Lord  Jesus    Christ.     When    I    had    to   "come   before   the   church,"  he 


lO  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAl'HV. 

endeavoured  to  keep  the  matter  as  quiet  as  possible,  lest  inconvenient  curiosity 
should  be  aroused  ;  but  the  fact  must  have  found  some  small  leakage,  for  we  were 
amused  to  hear  afterwards  of  the  following  little  incident.  An  old  man,  named 
Johnny  Dear,  preceded  me  in  the  list  of  candidates  ;  and  when  he  had  given  in  his 
experience,  and  been  questioned  and  dismissed,  two  maiden  ladies,  sitting  at  the 
back  of  the  room,  were  overheard  to  say,  "What  was  that  man's  name?"  "Johnny 
Dear."  "  Oh,  well  ;  I  suppose  it  will  be  'sister  dear'  next !  "  And  I  am  thankful  to 
say  her  surmise  was  correct,  and  that  I  happily  passed  through  the  somewhat 
severe  ordeal. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  had  expressed  a  wish  that  I  should  write  out  my  confession  of 
repentance  and  faith,  which  I  accordingly  did.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  read 
to  the  officers  of  the  church,  or  retained  solely  for  his  own  perusal  ;  but  it  is 
preserved  among  his  papers,  and  in  the  following  words  he  gave  me  assurance  of 
his  satisfaction  with  my  testimony  : — 

"75,  Dover  Road, 

"  January  1 1,   1855. 

"  My  Dearest, 

"The  letter  is  all  I  can  desire.  Oh  !  I  could  weep  for  joy  (as  I  certainly 
am  doing  now)  to  think  that  my  beloved  can  so  well  testify  to  a  work  of  grace  in  her 
soul.  I  knew  you  were  really  a  child  of  God,  but  I  did  not  think  you  had  been  led 
in  such  a  path.  I  see  my  Master  has  been  ploughing  deep,  and  it  is  the  deep-sown 
seed,  struggling  with  the  clods,  which  now  makes  your  bosom  heave  with  distress. 
If  I  know  anything  of  spiritual  symptoms,  I  think  I  know  a  cure  for  you.  Your 
position  is  not  the  sphere  for  earnest  labour  for  Christ.  You  have  done  all  you  could 
in  more  ways  than  one  ;  but  you  are  not  brought  into  actual  contact  either  with  the 
saints,  or  with  the  sinful,  sick,  or  miserable,  whom  you  could  serve.  Active  service 
brings  with  it  warmth,  and  this  tends  to  remove  doubting,  for  our  works  thus  become 
evidences  of  our  calling  and  election. 

"  I  flatter  no  one,  but  allow  me  to  say,  honestly,  that  few  cases  which  have  come 
under  my  notice  are  so  satisfactory  as  yours.  Mark,  I  write  not  now  as  your 
admiring  friend,  but  impartially  as  your  Pastor.  If  the  Lord  had  intended  your 
destruction.  He  would  not  have  told  you  such  things  as  these,  nor  would  He  enable 
you  so  unreservedly  to  cast  yourself  upon  His  faithful  promise.  As  I  hope  to  stand 
at  the  bar  of  God,  clear  of  the  blood  of  all  men,  it  would  ill  become  me  to  flatter  ; 
and  as  I  love  you  with  the  deepest  and  purest  affection,  far  be  it  from  me  to  trifle 
with  your  immortal  interests  ;  but  I  will  say  again  that  my  gratitude  to  God  ought  to 
be  great,  as  well  on  my  own  behalf  as  yours,  that  you  have  been  so  deeply  schooled 
in  ihe  lessons  of  the  heart,  and  have  so  frequently  looked  into  the  charnel-house  of 
your  own  corruption.      There  are  other  lessons  to  come,  that  you  may  be  thoroughly 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  II 

furnished  ;  but,  oh  !  my  dear  one,  how  good  to  learn  the  first  lesson  well  !  I  loved 
you  once,  but  feared  you  might  not  be  an  heir  of  Heaven  ; — God  in  His  mercy 
showed  me  that  you  were  indeed  elect.  I  then  thought  I  might  without  sin  reveal 
my  affection  to  you, — but  up  to  the  time  I  saw  your  note,  I  could  not  imagine  that 
you  had  seen  such  great  sights,  and  were  so  thoroughly  versed  in  soul-knowledge. 
God  is  good,  very  good,  infinitely  good.  Oh,  how  I  prize  this  last  gift,  because  I 
now  know,  more  than  ever,  that  the  Giver  loves  the  gift,  and  so  I  may  love  it,  too, 
but  only  in  subservience  to  Him.  Dear  purchase  of  a  Saviour's  blood,  you  are  to 
me  a  Saviour's  gift,  and  my  heart  is  full  to  overflowing  with  the  thought  of  such 
continued  goodness.  I  do  not  wonder  at  His  goodness,  for  it  is  just  like  Him  ;  but 
I  cannot  but  lift  up  the  voice  of  joy  at  His  manifold  mercies. 

"Whatever  befall  us,  trouble  and  adversity,  sickness  or  death,  we  need  not  fear  a 
final  separation,  either  from  each  other,  or  our  God.  I  am  glad  you  are  not  here  just 
at  this  moment,  for  I  feel  so  deeply  that  I  could  only  throw  my  arms  around  you  and 
weep.  May  the  choicest  favours  be  thine,  may  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  be  thy 
companion,  may  thy  supplications  be  answered,  and  may  thy  conversation  be  with 
Jesus  in  Heaven  !  Farewell  ;  unto  my  God  and  my  father's  God  I  commend  you. 
"  Yours,  with  pure  and  holy  affection,  as  well  as  terrestrial  love, 

"  C.    H.    Spurgeon." 

My  dear  husband  used  often  to  write  his  name  and  a  brief  comment  in  any 
of  his  books  which  he  specially  valued.  His  first  volume  of  Calvin's  Commentaries 
contains  an  inscription  which  is  such  a  direct  confirmation  of  what  I  have  written  on 
page  9,  that  it  makes  a  most  fitting  conclusion  to  the  present  chapter  : — 

^c^..,...^      _,-..-.^.     J^..^^--^      ^e^r^^fr^ 
^^^^     ^-^^    g^'      ^^^     ^c^      ^,    ^^--^ 

^  ^^Ut^    ....^  j    X.......^    ^^...«^^    .U^-.>^ 


'?f. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 


loljc,  Courtsljip,  miii  i^arrianc  (Co,^/nnfcd). 


OUR    TRYSTING-PLACE. 


£^T  this  time,  the  Crystal  Palace  was  a  favourite  resort  with  us.  It 
possessed  great  attractions  of  its  own,  and  perhaps  the  associations 
of  the  opening-  day  gave  it  an  added  grace  in  our  eyes.  In  common 
with  many  of  our  friends,  we  had  season  tickets  ;  and  we  used 
them  to  good  purpose,  as  my  beloved  found  that  an  hour  or  two 
of  rest  and  rela.xation  in  those  lovely  gardens,  and  that  pure  air, 
braced  him  for  the  constant  toil  of  preaching  to  crowded  congregations,  and  relieved 
him  somewhat  from  the  ill  effects  of  London's  smoky  atmosphere.  It  was  so  easy 
for  him  to  run  down  to  Sydenham  from  London  Bridge  that,  as  often  as  once  a  week, 
if  possible,  we  arranged  to  meet  there  for  a  quiet  walk  and  talk.  After  the  close  of 
the  Thursday  evening  service,  there  would  be  a  whispered  word  to  me  in  the  aisle, 
"  Three  o'clock  to-morrow,"  which  meant  that,  if  I  would  be  at  the  Palace  by  that 
hour,    "somebody"   would  meet  me   at  the  Crystal   Fountain.       I   was  then  living 


14 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


at  7,  St.  Ann's  Terrace,  Brixton  Road,  in  the  house  which  my  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
R.  B.  Thompson,  shared  with  my  uncle,  H.  Kilvington,  Esq.,  and  the  long  walk 
from  there  to  Sydenham  was  a  pleasant  task  to  me,  with  such  a  meeting-  in  view, 
and  such  delightful  companionship  as  a  reward.  We  wandered  amid  the  many 
Courts,  which  were  then  chiefly  instructive  and  educational  in  character  ;  we  gazed 
with  almost  solemn  awe  at  the  reproductions  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Pompeii,  and  I 
think  we  learned  many  things  beside  the  tenderness  of  our  own  hearts  towards 
each  other,  as  the  bright  blissful  hours  sped  by. 


MY    BRIXTON    HOME. 


The  young  minister  had  not  much  time  to  spare  from  his  duties,  but  he  usually 
came  to  see  me  on  a  Monday,  bringing  his  sermon  with  him  to  revise  for  the  press  ; 
and  I  learned  to  be  quiet,  and  mind  my  own  business,  while  this  important  work  was 
going  on.  It  was  good  discipline  for  the  Pastor's  intended  wife,  wh6  needed  no 
inconsiderable  amount  of  training  to  fit  her  in  any  measure  for  the  post  she  was 
ordained  to  occupy.  I  remember,  however,  that  there  was  one  instance  of 
preparation  for  future  duty,  which  was  by  no  means  agreeable  to  my  feelings,  and 
which,  I  regret  to  say,  I  resented.  As  a  chronicler  must  be  truthful,  I  tell  the  story, 
and   to  show   how,  from   the   very  beginning   of   his   public  life,  my  dear  husband's 


C.     ir.     SrURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRAPHV.  1 5 

devotion  to  his  sacred  work  dominated  and  even  absorbed  every  other  passion  and 
purpose  of  his  heart.  He  was  a  "called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful"  servant  of 
Christ  in  the  very  highest  degree  ;  and  during  all  his  life  he  put  God's  service  first, 
and  all  earthly  things  second.  I  have  known  him  to  be  so  abstracted,  on  a  Sabbath 
morning  at  the  Tabernacle,  just  before  preaching,  that  if  I  left  his  vestry  for  a  few 
moments,  he  would,  on  my  return,  rise  and  greet  me  with  a  handshake,  and  a  grave 
"  How  are  you  ?"  as  if  I  were  a  strange  visitor  ;  then,  noting  the  amused  look  on  my 
face,  he  would  discover  his  mistake,  and  laughingly  say,  "  Never  mind,  wifey  dear,  I 
was  thinking  about  my  hymns."  This  happened  not  once  only,  but  several  times, 
and  when  the  service  was  over,  and  we  were  driving  home,  he  would  make  very 
merry  over  it. 

But  I  must  tell  the  promised  story  of  the  earlier  days,  though  it  is  not  at  all  to 
my  own  credit ;  yet,  even  as  I  write  it,  I  smile  at  the  remembrance  of  his  enjoyment 
of  the  tale  in  later  years.  If  I  wanted  to  amuse  him  much,  or  chase  some  gloom 
from  his  dear  face,  I  would  remind  him  of  the  time  when  he  took  his  sweetheart  to  a 
certain  service,  and  there  was  so  preoccupied  with  the  discourse  he  was  about  to 
deliver,  that  he  forgot  all  about  her,  and  left  her  to  take  care  of  herself  as  best  she 
could.  As  I  recalled  the  incident,  which  really  was  to  me  a  very  serious  one  at  the 
time,  and  might  have  had  an  untoward  ending,  he  would  laugh  at  the  ludicrous  side 
of  it  till  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  and  then  he  would  lovingly  kiss  me,  and  say 
how  glad  he  was  that  I  had  borne  with  his  ill  manners,  and  how  much  I  must  have 
loved  him. 

This  is  the  story.  He  was  to  preach  at  the  large  hall  of  "The  Horns," 
Kennington,  which  was  not  very  far  from  where  we  then  resided.  He  asked  me  to 
accompany  him,  and  dined  with  us  at  St.  Ann's  Terrace,  the  service  being  in  the 
afternoon.  We  went  together,  happily  enough,  in  a  cab  ;  and  I  well  remember  trying 
to  keep  close  by  his  side  as  we  mingled  with  the  mass  of  people  thronging  up  the 
staircase.  But,  by  the  time  we  had  reached  the  landing,  he  had  forgotten  my 
existence  ;  the  burden  of  the  message  he  had  to  proclaim  to  that  crowd  of  immortal 
souls  was  upon  him,  and  he  turned  into  the  small  side  door  where  the  ofificials  were 
awaiting  him,  without  for  a  moment  realizing  that  I  was  left  to  struggle  as  best  I 
could  with  the  rough  and  eager  throng  around  me.  At  first,  I  was  utterly 
bewildered,  and  then,  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  confess,  I  was  angry.  I  at  once  returned 
home,  and  told  my  grief  to  my  gentle  mother,  who  tried  to  soothe  my  ruffled  Spirit, 
and  bring  me  to  a  better  frame  of  mind.  She  wisely  reasoned  that  my  chosen  hus- 
band was  no  ordinary  man,  that  his  whole  life  was  absolutely  dedicated  to  God  and 
His  service,  and  that  I  must  never,  never  hinder  him  by  trying  to  put  myself  first  in 
his  heart.  Presently,  after  much  good  and  loving  counsel,  my  heart  grew  soft,  and  I 
saw  I  had  been  very  foolish  and  wilful  ;  and  then  a  cab  drew  up  at  the  door,  and  dear 


1 6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

Mr.  Spurgeon  came  running  into  the  house,  in  great  excitement,  calling,  "  Where's 
Susie  ?  I  have  been  searching  for  her  everywhere,  and  cannot  find  her  ;  has 
she  come  back  by  herself?  "  My  dear  mother  went  to  him,  took  him  aside,  and  told 
him  all  the  truth  ;  and  1  think,  when  he  realized  the  state  of  things,  she  had  to  soothe 
him  also,  for  he  was  so  innocent  at  heart  of  having  offended  me  in  any  way,  that  he 
must  have  felt  I  had  done  him  an  injustice  in  thus  doubting  him.  At  last,  mother 
came  to  fetch  me  to  him,  and  I  went  downstairs.  Quietly  he  let  me  tell  him  how 
indignant  I  had  felt,  and  then  he  repeated  mother's  little  lesson,  assuring  me  of  his 
deep  affection  for  me,  but  pointing  out  that,  before  all  things,  he  was  Gocfs  servant, 
and  I  must  be  prepared  to  yield  my  claims  to  His. 

I  never  forgot  the  teaching  of  that  day  ;  I  had  learned  my  hard  lesson  by  heart, 
for  I  do  not  recollect  ever  again  seeking  to  assert  my  right  to  his  time  and  attention 
when  any  service  for  God  demanded  them.  It  was  ever  the  settled  purpose  of  my 
married  life  that  I  should  never  hinder  him  in  his  work  for  the  Lord,  never  try  to 
keep  him  from  fulfilling  his  engagements,  never  plead  my  own  ill-health  as  a  reason 
why  he  should  remain  at  home  with  me.  I  thank  God,  now,  that  He  enabled  me  to 
carry  out  this  determination,  and  rejoice  that  I  have  no  cause  to  reproach  myself  with 
being  a  drag  on  the  swift  wheels  of  his  consecrated  life.  I  do  not  take  any  credit  to 
myself  for  this  ;  it  was  the  Lord's  will  concerning  me,  and  He  saw  to  it  that  I 
received  the  necessary  training  whereby,  in  after  years,  I  could  cheerfully  surrender 
His  chosen  servant  to  the  incessant  demands  of  his  ministry,  his  literary  work,  and 
the  multiplied  labours  of  his  exceptionally  busy  life.  And  now  I  can  bless  God  for 
what  happened  on  that  memorable  afternoon  when  my  beloved  preached  at  "The 
Horns,"  Kennington.  What  a  delightfully  cosy  tea  we  three  had  together  that 
evening,  and  how  sweet  was  the  calm  in  our  hearts  after  the  storm,  and  how  much 
we  both  loved  and  honoured  mother  for  her  wise  counsels  and  her  tender  diplomacy ! 

Some  little  time  afterwards,  when  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  an  engagement  at  Windsor, 
I  was  asked  to  accompany  him,  and  in  forwarding  the  invitation,  he  referred  to  the 
above  incident  thus  : — "  My  Own  Darling, — What  do  you  say  to  this  ?  As  you  wish 
me  to  express  my  desire,  I  will  say,  '  Go  ; '  but  I  should  have  left  it  to  your  own 
choice  if  I  did  not  know  that  my  wishes  always  please  you.  Possibly,  I  may  be  again 
inattentive  to  you  if  you  do  go  ;  but  this  will  be  nice  for  us  both, — that  '  Charles ' 
may  have  space  for  mending,  and  that  '  Susie  '  may  exhibit  her  growth  in  know- 
ledge of  his  character,  bv  patiently  enduring  his  failings."  So  the  end  of  this  little 
"  rift  in  the  lute  "  was  no  patched-up  peace  between  us,  but  a  deepening  of  our 
confidence  in  each  other,  and  an  increase  of  that  fervent  love  which  can  look  a 
misunderstanding  in  the  face  till  it  melts  away  and  vanishes,  as  a  morning  cloud 
before  the  ardent  elances  of  the  sun. 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  1 7 

Two  tender  little  notes,  written  by  my  husband  sixteen  years  later  (1871),  will 
show  what  an  abundant  reward  of  loving  approval  was  bestowed  on  me  for  merely 
doing  what  it  was  my  duty  to  do  : — 

"  My  Own  Dear  One, — None  know  how  grateful  I  am  to  God  for  you.  In  all 
I  have  ever  done  for  Him,  you  have  a  large  share,  for  in  making  me  so  happy  you 
have  fitted  me  tor  service.  Not  an  ounce  of  power  has  ever  been  lost  to  the  good 
cause  through  you.  1  have  served  the  Lord  far  more,  and  never  less,  for  your  sweet 
companionship.      The  Lord  God  Almighty  bless  you  now  and  tor  ever  !  " 

"  1  have  been  thinking  over  my  strange  history,  and  musing  on  eternal  love's 
great  river-head  from  which  such  streams  of  mercy  have  tlowed  to  me.  I  dwell 
devoutly  on  many  points  ; — the  building  of  the  Tabernacle, — what  a  business  it  was, 
and  how  little  it  seems  now  !  Do  you  remember  a  Miss  Thompson  who  collected 
for  the  enlargement  of  New  Park  Street  Chapel  as  much  as  ;^ioo  ?  Bless  her  dear 
heart  !  Think  of  the  love  which  gave  me  that  dear  lady  for  a  wife,  and  made  her 
such  a  wife  ;  to  me,  the  ideal  wite,  and,  as  I  believe,  without  exaggeration  or  love- 
tlourishing,  the  precise  form  in  which  God  would  make  a  woman  tor  such  a  man  as  I 
am,  if  He  designed  her  to  be  the  greatest  of  all  earthly  blessings  to  him  ;  and  in  some 
sense  a  spiritual  blessing,  too,  for  in  that  also  am  I  richly  profited  by  you,  though 
you  would  not  believe  it.  I  will  leave  this  '  good  matter '  ere  the  paper  is  covered  ; 
but  not  till  1  have  sent  you  as  many  kisses  as  there  are  waves  on  the  sea." 

It  was  our  mutual  desire  to  pay  a  visit  to  Colchester,  that  I  might  be  introduced 
to  Mr.  Spurgeon's  parents  as  their  future  daughter-in-law  ;  and,  after  some  trouble 
and  disappointment,  my  father's  consent  was  obtained,  and  we  set  off  on  our  first 
important  journey  together,  with  very  keen  and  vivid  perceptions  of  the  delighttul 
novelty  of  our  experience.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  my  memories  of  the 
visit  are  somewhat  hazy,  although  intensely  happy.  I  was  welcomed,  petted,  and 
entertained  most  affectionately  by  all  the  family,  and  I  remember  being  taken  to  see 
every  place  and  object  of  interest  in  and  around  Colchester  ;  but  ivhat  I  saw,  I 
know  not  ;  the  joy  of  being  all  the  day  long  with  my  beloved,  and  this  for  three 
or  four  days  together,  was  enough  to  fill  my  heart  with  gladness,  and  render  me 
oblivious  of  any  other  pleasure.  I  think  we  must  have  returned  on  the  Friday  of 
our  week's  holiday,  for,  according  to  our  custom,  we  exchanged  letters  on  the 
Saturday  as  lisual,  and  this  is  what  we  said  to  each  other  : — 

"75,  Dover  Road, 

"April,  '55. 

"  My  Own  Doubly-dear  Susie, 

"  How  much  we  have  enjoyed  in  each   other's  society  !      It  seems  almost 
impossible  that  I  could  either  have  conferred  or  received  so  much  happiness.      I  feel 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


now,  like  you,  very  low  in  spirits  ;  but  a  sweet  promise  in  Ezekiel  cheers  me,  '  I  will 
give  thee  the  opening  of  the  mouth  in  the  midst  of  them.'  (This  was  in  reference  to 
the  preparation  of  sermons  for  the  Sabbath. — S.  S.)  Surely  my  God  has  not  forgotten 
me.  Pray  for  me,  my  love  ;  and  may  our  united  petitions  win  a  blessing  through  the 
Saviour's  merit !  Let  us  take  heed  of  putting  ourselves  too  prominently  in  our  own 
hearts,  but  let  us  commit  our  way  unto  the  Lord.  '  What  I  have  in  my  own  hand,  I 
usually  lose,'  said  Luther  ;  '  but  what  I  put  into  God's  hand,  is  still,  and  ever  will  be, 
in  my  possession.'  I  need  not  send  my  love  to  you,  for,  though  absent  in  body,  my 
heart  is  with  you  still,  and  I  am,  your  much-loved,  and  ardendy-loving,  C.  H.  S." 
"  P.S. — The  devil  has  barked  again  in  The  Essex  Standard.  It  contains  another 
letter.  Never  mind  ;  when  Sal  an  opens  his  mouth,  he  gives  me  an  opportunity  of 
ramming  my  sword  down  his  throat." 

(My  reply.) 

"  St.  Ann's  Terrace, 

"April,  '55. 
My  Dearest, 

"  I  thank  you  with  warm  and  hearty  thanks  for  the  note  just  received. 
It  is  useless  for  me  to  attempt  to  tell  you  how  much  happiness  I  have  had  during  the 
past  week.  Words  are  but  cold  dishes  on  which  to  serve  up  thoughts  and  feelings 
which  come  warm  and  glowing  from  the  heart.  I  should  like  to  express  my 
appreciation  of  all  the  tenderness  and  care  you  have  shown  towards  me  during  this 
happy  week  ;  but  I  fear  to  pain  you  by  thanks  for  what  I  know  was  a  pleasure  to 
you.  I  expect  your  thoughts  have  been  busy  to-day  about  '  the  crown  jewels.'  (He 
had  talked  of  preaching  on  this  subject. — S.  S.)  The  gems  may  differ  in  size, 
colour,  richness,  and  beauty,  but  even  the  smallest  are  '  precious  stones ',  are 
they  not  ? 

"  That  Standard  certainly  does  not  bear  '  Excelsior '  as  its  motto  ;  nor  can 
'  Good  will  to  men '  be  the  device  of  its  floating  pennon,  but  it  matters  not ;  we  know 
that  all  is  under  the  control  of  One  of  whom  Asaph  said,  '  Surely  the  wrath  of  man 
shall  praise  Thee  ;  the  remainder  of  wrath  shalt  Thou  restrain.'  May  His  blessing 
rest  in  an  especial  manner  on  you  to-night,  my  dearly-beloved  ;  and  on  the  approach- 
ing Sabbath,  when  you  stand  before  the  great  congregation,  may  you  be  '  filled  with 
all  the  fulness  of  God'  !     Good-night.      Fondly  and  faithfully  yours,— Susie." 

The  mention  of  The  Essex  Standard,  in  the  foregoing  letters,  points  to  the  fact 
that,  even  thus  early  in  his  ministerial  career,  the  strife  of  tongues  had  commenced 
against  God's  servant,  and  the  cruel  arrows  of  the  wicked  had  sorely  wounded  him. 
He  had  also  begun  to  learn  that  some  of  his  severest  critics  were  the  very  men  who 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  19 

ought  to  have  been  his  heartiest  friends  and  warmest  sympathizers.  The  first 
reference  to  this  persecution  is  in  a  letter  to  me,  written  January  i,  1855,  where 
he  says  : — "  I  find  much  stir  has  been  made  by  '  Job's  letter ',  and  hosts  of 
unknown  persons  have  risen  up  on  my  behalf  It  seems  very  likely  that  King  James 
(James  Wells)  will  shake  his  own  throne  by  lifting  his  hand  against  one  of  the  Lord's 
little  ones."  Then,  in  May,  in  one  of  the  Saturday  letters,  there  occur  these 
sentences  : — "  I  am  down  in  the  valley,  partly  because  of  two  desperate  attacks  in 
The  Sheffield  Independent,  and  The  Empire,  and  partly  because  I  cannot  find  a 
subject.  Yet  faith  fails  not.  I  know  and  believe  the  promise,  and  am  not  afraid  to 
rest  upon  it.  All  the  scars  I  receive,  are  scars  of  honour  ;  so,  faint  heart,  on  to  the 
battle  !  My  love,  were  you  here,  how  you  would  comfort  me  ;  but  since  you  are  not, 
I  shall  do  what  is  better  still,  go  upstairs  alone,  and  pour  out  my  griefs  into  my 
Saviour's  ear.      '  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  sonl,  I  can  to  Thy  bosom  fly  ! '  " 

These  were  only  the  first  few  drops  of  the  terrible  storm  of  detraction,  calumny, 
and  malice,  which  afterward  burst  upon  him  with  unexampled  fury  ;  but  which, 
blessed  be  God,  he  lived  through,  and  lived  down.  I  do  not  say  more  concerning 
these  slanders,  as  they  will  be  described  in  detail  in  later  chapters. 

When  my  parents  removed  to  a  house  in  Falcon  Square,  City,  we  met  much 
more  frequently,  and  grew  to  know  each  other  better,  while  our  hearts  were  knit 
closer  and  closer  in  purest  love.  A  little  more  "training"  also  took  place,  for  one 
day  my  beloved  brought  with  him  an  ancient,  rusty-looking  book,  and,  to  my  amaze- 
ment, said,  "  Now,  darling,  I  want  you  to  go  carefully  through  this  volume,  marking 
all  those  paragraphs  and  sentences  that  strike  you  as  being  particularly  sweet,  or 
quaint,  or  instructive  ;  will  you  do  this  for  me  ?  "  Of  course,  I  at  once  complied  ; 
but  he  did  not  know  with  what  a  trembling  sense  of  my  own  inability  the  promise 
was  given,  nor  how  disqualified  I  then  was  to  appreciate  the  spiritual  beauty  of  his 
favourite  Puritan  writers.  It  was  the  simplest  kind  of  literary  work  which  he  asked 
me  to  do,  but  I  was  such  an  utter  stranger  to  such  service,  that  it  seemed  a  most 
important  and  difficult  task  to  discover  in  that  "dry  "  old  book  the  bright  diamonds 
and  red  gold  which  he  evidendy  reckoned  were  therein  enshrined.  Love,  however, 
is  a  matchless  teacher,  and  I  was  a  willing  pupil  ;  and  so,  with  help  and  suggestion 
from  so  dear  a  tutor,  the  work  went  on  from  day  to  day  till,  in  due  time,  a  small 
volume  made  its  appearance,  which  he  called.  Smooth  Stones  taken  from  Ancient 
Brooks.  This  tide  was  a  pleasant  and  Puritanic  play  upon  the  author's  name,  and  I 
think  the  compilers  were  well  pleased  with  the  results  of  their  happy  work  together. 
I  believe  the  litde  book  is  out  of  print  now,  and  copies  are  very  rarely  to  be  met 
with  ;  but  those  who  possess  them  may  feel  an  added  interest  in  their  perusal,  now 
that  they  know  the  sweet  love-story  which  hides  between  their  pages. 


20  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

As  the  days  went  by,  my  beloved's  preaching  engagements  multipHed  exceed- 
ingly, yet  he  found  time  to  make  me  very  happy  by  his  loving  visits  and  letters  ;  and, 
on  Sunday  mornings,  I  was  nearly  always  allowed  by  my  parents  to  enjoy  his 
ministry.  Yet  this  pleasure  was  mingled  with  much  of  pain  ;  for,  during  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1855,  he  was  preaching  in  Exeter  Hall  to  vast  crowds  of  people, 
and  the  strain  on  his  physical  power  was  terrible.  Sometimes  his  voice  would  almost 
break  and  fail  as  he  pleaded  with  sinners  to  come  to  Christ,  or  magnified  the  Lord  in 
His  sovereignty  and  righteousness.  A  glass  of  Chili  vinegar  always  stood  on  a 
shelf  under  the  desk  before  him,  and  I  knew  what  to  expect  when  he  had  recourse 
to  that  remedy.  Oh,  how  my  heart  ached  for  him  !  What  self-control  I  had  to 
exercise  to  appear  calm  and  collected,  and  keep  quietly  in  my  seat  up  in  that  litde  side 
gallery!  How  I  longed  to  have  the  right  to  go  and  comfort  and  cheer  him  when 
the  service  was  over!  But  I  had  to  walk  away,  as  other  people  did, — I,  who 
belonged  to  him,  and  was  closer  to  his  heart  than  anyone  there  !  It  was  severe 
discipline  for  a  young  and  loving  spirit.  I  remember,  with  strange  vividness  at  this 
long  distance  of  time,  the  Sunday  evening  when  he  preached  from  the  text,  "  His  Name 
shall  endure  for  ever."  It  was  a  subject  in  which  he  revelled,  it  was  his  chief  delight 
to  exalt  his  glorious  Saviour,  and  he  seemed  in  that  discourse  to  be  pouring  out  his 
very  soul  and  life  in  homage  and  adoration  before  his  gracious  King.  But  I  really 
thought  he  would  have  died  there,  in  face  of  all  those  people  !  At  the  end  of 
the  sermon,  he  made  a  mighty  effort  to  recover  his  voice  ;  but  utterance  well- 
nigh  failed,  and  only  in  broken  accents  could  the  pathetic  peroration  be  heard, — 
"  Let  my  name  perish,  but  let  Christ's  Name  last  for  ever!  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  Jesus  ! 
Crown  Him  Lord  of  all  !  You  will  not  hear  me  say  anything  else.  These  are  my 
last  words  in  Exeter  Hall  for  this  time.  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  Jesus  !  Crown  Him  Lord- 
ot  all  !  "  and  then  he  fell  back  almost  fainting  in  the  chair  behind  him. 

In  after  days,  when  the  Lord  had  fully  perfected  for  him  that  silver-toned  voice 
which  ravished  men's  ears,  while  it  melted  their  hearts,  there  was  seldom  any 
recurrence  of  the  painful  scene  I  have  attempted  to  describe.  On  the  contrary,  he 
spoke  with  the  utmost  ease,  in  the  largest  buildings,  to  assembled  thousands,  and, 
as  a  master  musician  playing  on  a  priceless  instrument,  he  could  at  will  either  charm 
his  audience  with  notes  of  dulcet  sweetness,  or  ring  forth  the  clarion  tones  of 
warning  and  alarm. 

He  used  to  say,  playfully,  that  his  throat  had  been  macadamised  ;  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  I  believe  that  the  constant  and  natural  use  of  his  voice,  in  the  delivery 
of  so  many  sermons  and  addresses,  was  the  secret  of  his  entire  freedom  from  the 
serious  malady  generally  known  as  "  clergyman's  sore  throat."  During  this  first 
visit    to    Exeter    Hall,    New    Park     Street    Chapel    was    enlarged,    and    when    this 


C.      H.     SrURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  21 

improvement  was  completed,  he  returned  to  his  own  pulpit,  the  services  at  the  hall 
ceased,  and  for  a  short  time,  at  least,  my  fears  for  him  were  silenced. 

But  his  work  went  on  increasing  almost  daily,  and  his  popularity  grew  with  rapid 
strides.  Many  notable  services  in  the  open-air  were  held  about  this  time,  and  my 
letters  give  a  glimpse  of  two  of  these  occasions.  On  June  2,  1855,  he  writes: — 
"  Last  evening,  about  500  persons  came  to  the  field,  and  afterwards  adjourned  to  the 
chapel  kindly  lent  by  Mr.  Eldridge.  My  Master  gave  me  power  and  liberty.  I  am 
persuaded  souls  were  saved  ;  and,  as  for  myself,  I  preached  like  the  chief  of  sinners, 
to  those  who,  like  me,  were  chief  sinners,  too.  Many  were  the  tears,  and  not  a  few 
the  smiles." 

Then,  on  the  23rd  of  the  same  month,  I  had  a  jubilant  letter,  which  commenced 
thus  : — "Yesterday,  I  climbed  to  the  summit  of  a  minister's  glory.  My  congregation 
was  enormous,  I  think  10,000  (this  was  in  a  field  at  Hackney)  ;  but  certainly  twice 
as  many  as  at  Exeter  Hall.  The  Lord  was  with  me,  and  the  profoundest  silence  was 
observed  ;  but,  oh,  the  close, — never  did  mortal  man  receive  a  more  enthusiastic 
ovation  !  I  wonder  I  am  alive  !  After  the  service,  five  or  six  gentlemen 
endeavoured  to  clear  a  passage,  but  I  was  borne  along,  amid  cheers,  and  prayers, 
and  shouts,  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour, — it  really  seemed  more  like  a  week! 
I  was  hurried  round  and  round  the  field  without  hope  of  escape  until,  suddenly 
seeing  a  nice  open  carriage,  with  two  occupants,  standing  near,  I  sprang-  in,  and 
begged  them  to  drive  away.  This  they  most  kindly  did,  and  I  stood  up,  waving  my 
hat,  and  crying,  '  The  blessing  of  God  be  with  you  !  '  while,  from  thousands  of 
heads  the  hats  were  lifted,  and  cheer  after  cheer  was  given.  Surely,  amid  these 
plaudits  I  can  hear  the  low  rumblings  of  an  advancing  storm  of  reproaches  ;  but 
even  this  I  can  bear  for  the  Master's  sake." 

This  was  a  true  prophecy,  for  the  time  did  come  when  the  hatred  ot  men  to  the 
truths  he  preached  rose  to  such  a  height,  that  no  scorn  seemed  too  bitter,  no  sneer 
too  contemptuous,  to  fling  at  the  preacher  who  boldly  declared  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God,  as  he  had  himself  learned  it  at  the  cross  of  Christ  ;  but,  thank  God, 
he  lived  to  be  honoured  above  most  men  for  his  uprightness  and  fidelity,  and  never, 
to  the  last  moment  of  his  life,  did  he  change  one  jot  or  tittle  of  his  belief,  or  vary  an 
iota  ot  his  whole-hearted  testimony  to  the  divinity  of  the  doctrines  of  free  grace. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 


%oht,  Courtsljip,  anb  jilamagt  (Co^^f/m/ed). 

N  July  ot  this  year  (1855),  my  dear  one  went  to  Scotland,  intending 
to  combine  a  holiday  with  the  fulfilment  of  many  preaching  engage- 
ments ; — a  very  bad  plan  this,  as  he  afterwards  found,  for  an 
overtaxed  mind  needs  absolute  repose  during  resting  times,  and 
sermons  and  spirits  both  suffer  if  this  reasonable  rule  be  broken.  His 
letters  to  me  during  this  journey  are  not  altogether  joyful  ones  ; 
I  give  a  few  extracts  from  them,  which  will  serve  to  outline  his  first  experiences  in  a 
form  of  service  into  which  he  so  fully  entered  in  after  years.  On  this  occasion,  he 
was  not  happy,  or  "  at  home,"  and  was  constantly  longing  to  return.  This  was,  too, 
his  /f/'j/'  long  journey  by  rail,  and  it  is  curious  to  note  what  physical  pain  the 
inexperienced  traveller  endured.  In  those  days,  there  were  no  Pullman  cars,  or 
luxurious  saloon  carriages,  fitted  up  with  all  the  comforts  and  appliances  of  a  first- 
class  hotel,  so  our  poor  voyager  fared  badly.  He  writes  a  note  from  Carlisle,  just  to 
assure  me  of  his  safety,  and  then,  on  reaching  Glasgow,  he  gives  this  account  of  his 
ride  : — "  At  Watford,  I  went  with  the  guard,  and  enjoyed  some  conversation  with 
him,  which  I  hope  God  will  bless  to  his  good.  At  10.45,  ^  went  inside, — people 
asleep.  I  could  not  manage  a  wink,  but  felt  very  queer.  At  morning-light,  went 
into  a  second-class  carriage  with  another  guard,  and  rejoiced  in  the  splendid  view  as 
well  as  my  uncomfortable  sensations  would  allow.  Arrived  here  tired,  begrimed  with 
dust,  sleepy,  not  over  high  in  spirits,  and  with  a  dreadful  cold  in  my  head.  Last 
night,  I  slept  twelve  hours  without  waking,  but  I  still  feel  as  tired  as  before  I  slept. 
I  will,  I  think,  never  travel  so  far  at  once  again.  I  certainly  shall  not  come  home  in 
one  day  ;  for  if  I  do,  my  trip  will  have  been  an  injury  instead  of  a  benefit.  I  am  so 
glad  you  did  not  have  my  horrid  ride  ;  but  if  I  could  spirit  you  here,  I  would  soon 
do  it.      Pray  for  me,  my  love." 


The  next  epistle  I  will  give  at  length.  I  have  been  trying  in  these  pages  to 
leave  the  "  love  "  out  ot  the  letters  as  much  as  possible,  lest  my  precious  things 
should  appear  but  platitudes  to  my  readers,  but  it  is  a  difficult  task  ;  for  little  rills  of 
tenderness  run  between  all  the  sentences,  like  the  sin8:ino-,  dancing-  waters  among  the 


24  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

boulders  of  a  brook,  and  I  cannot  still  the  music  altogether.  To  the  end  of  his 
beautiful  life  it  was  the  same,  his  letters  were  always  those  of  a  devoted  lover,  as  well 
as  of  a  tender  husband  ;  not  only  did  the  brook  never  dry  up,  but  the  stream  grew 
deeper  and  broader,  and  the  rhythm  of  its  song  waxed  sweeter  and  stronger. 

"  Aberfeldy, 

"  July  1 7th,  1855. 

"  My   Precious   Love, 

"  Your  dearly-prized  note  came  safely  to  hand,  and  verily  it  did  excel 
all  I  have  ever  read,  even  from  your  own  loving  pen.  Well,  I  am  all  right  now. 
Last  Sabbath,  I  preached  twice  ;  and  to  sum  up  all  in  a  word,  the  services  were 
'  glorious.'  In  the  morning.  Dr.  Patterson's  place  was  crammed  ;  and  in  the  evening, 
Dr.  Wardlaw's  Chapel  was  crowded  to  suffocation  by  more  than  2,500  people,  while 
persons  outside  declared  that  quite  as  many  went  away.  I\Iy  reception  was 
enthusiastic  ;  never  was  greater  honour  given  to  mortal  man.  They  were  just  as 
delighted  as  are  the  people  at  Park  Street.  To-day,  I  have  had  a  fine  drive  with  my 
host  and  his  daughter.  To-morrow,  I  am  to  preach  here.  It  is  quite  impossible  for 
me  to  be  left  in  quiet.  Already,  letters  come  in,  begging  me  to  go  here,  there,  and 
everywhere.  Unless  I  go  to  the  North  Pole,  I  never  can  get  away  from  ni)  hol\- 
labour. 

"  Now  to  return  to  you  again,  I  have  had  day-dreams  of  you  while  dri\ing 
along,  I  thought  you  were  very  near  me.  It  is  not  long,  dearest,  before  I  shall 
again  enjoy  your  sweet  society,  if  the  providence  of  God  permit.  I  knew  I  lo\ed 
you  very  much  before,  but  now  I  feel  how  necessary  you  are  to  me  ;  and  you  will  not 
lose  much  by  my  absence,  if  you  find  me,  on  my  return,  more  attentive  to  your 
feelings,  as  well  as  equally  affectionate.  I  can  now  thoroughly  sympathize  with  your 
tears,  because  I  feel  in  no  little  degree  that  pang  of  absence  which  my  constant 
engagements  prevented  me  from  noticing  when  in  London.  How  then  must  you, 
with  so  much  leisure,  have  felt  my  absence  from  you,  even  though  you  well  knew 
that  it  was  unavoidable  on  my  part  !  My  darling,  accept  love  of  the  deepest  and 
purest  kind  from  one  who  is  not  prone  to  exaggerate,  but  who  feels  that  here  there 
is  no  room  for  hyperbole.  Think  not  that  I  weary  myself  by  writing  ;  for,  dearest, 
it  is  my  delight  to  please  you,  and  solace  an  absence  which  must  be  even  more 
dreary  to  you  than  to  me,  since  travelling  and  preaching  lead  me  to  forget  it.  My 
eyes  ache  for  sleep,  but  they  shall  keep  open  till  I  have  invoked  the  blessings  from 
above — mercies  temporal  and  eternal — to  rest  on  the  head  of  one  whose  name  is 
sweet  to  me,  and  who  equally  loves  the  name  of  her  own,  her  much-loved,  C.  H.  S." 

The    dear    traveller    seems    to   have  had  his   Scotch    visit   interrupted    by   the 


c.    H.    sturgeon's    autobiography  25 

necessity  of  a  journey  to  fulfil  preaching  engagements  at  Bradford  and  Stockton. 
On  his  way  to  these  towns,  he  stayed  to  see  the  beauties  of  Windermere,  and  sought 
to  enjoy  a  little  relaxation  and  rest  ;  but  he  writes  very  sadly  of  these  experiences. 
"  This  is  a  bad  way  ot  spending  time,"  he  says,  "  I  had  rather  be  preaching  five 
times  a  day  than  be  here.  Idleness  is  my  labour.  I  long  for  the  traces  ao-ain,  and 
want  to  be  in  the  shafts,  pulling  the  old  coach.  Oh,  for  the  quiet  of  my  own  closet ! 
I  think,  if  I  have  one  reason  for  wishing  to  return,  more  cogent  than  even  my 
vehement  desire  to  see  you,  it  is  that  I  may  see  luy  Lord,  so  as  I  have  seen  Him  in 
my  retirement." 

Of  the  services  at  Bradford,  he  gives  this  brief  record  : — "  Last  Sabbath  was  a 
day  of  even  greater  triumph  than  at  Glasgow.  The  hall,  which  holds  more  people 
than  Exeter  Hall,  was  crammed  to  excess  at  both  services,  and  in  the  evening  the 
crowds  outside  who  went  away  were  immense,  and  would  have  furnished  another 
hall  with  an  audience.  At  Stockton,  I  had  a  full  house,  and  my  Master's  smile  ;  I 
left  there  this  morning  at  8  o'clock." 

Returning  to  Glasgow,  via  Edinburgh,  he  preached  in  that  city,  and  I 
afterwards  had  a  doleful  little  note,  in  which  he  wrote  bitter  things  against  himself, — 
perhaps  without  reason.  His  words,  however,  show  with  what  tenderness  of 
conscience  he  served  his  God,  how  quick  he  was  to  discover  in  himself  anything 
which  might  displease  his  Master,  and  how  worthless  was  the  applause  of  the  people 
if  the  face  of  his  Lord  were  hidden.  He  says  : — "  I  preached  in  Edinburgh,  and 
returned  here,  full  of  anguish  at  my  ill-success.  Ah  !  my  darling,  your  beloved 
behaved  like  Jonah,  and  halt  wished  never  more  to  testify  against  Nineveh.  Though 
it  rained,  the  hall  was  crowded,  and  there  was  I, — without  my  God  !  It  was  a  sad 
failure  on  my  part  ;  nevertheless,  God  can  bless  my  words  to  poor  souls."  (A 
further  reference  to  this  incident  will  be  found  in  the  chapters  in  which  Mr.  Spurgeon 
describes  his  Scotch  tour  in  fuller  detail  than  1  have  given.) 

A  hurried  excursion  to  the  Highlands, — a  day's  sight-seeing  in  Glasgow, — 
another  Sabbath  of  services,  when  enormous  crowds  were  disappointed, — 20,000 
people  being  turned  away,  because  admittance  was  impossible, — and  then  the  Scotch 
journey — the  forerunner  of  so  many  similar  events, — was  a  thing  of  the  past,  and 
work  at  home  was  recommenced  with  earnestness  and  vigour. 

Even  at  this  early  period  of  mv  beloxed's  ministry,  while  he  was  still  so 
youthful  that  none  need  have  wondered  had  he  been  pufted  up  by  his  popularity  and 
success,  there  was  in  his  heart  a  deep  and  sweet  humility,  which  kept  him  low  at  the 
Master's  feet,  and  fitted  him  to  bear  the  ever-increasing  burden  of  celebrity  and 
fame.      This   is  manifest   in   so   many   of   these   letters    of    1855,   that    I    have    felt 


20  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

constrained  to  refer  to  it,  since  even  now  some  dare  to  speak  of  him  as  self-confident 
and  arrogant,  when,  had  they  known  him  as  his  dearest  friends  knew  him,  they 
would  have  marvelled  at  his  lowliness,  and  borne  witness — as  these  have  often  done, 
— that  "  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ "  was  one  of  the  many  charms  of  his 
radiant  character.  His  dear  son  in  the  faith,  Pastor  Hugh  D.  Brown,  of  Dublin, 
speaks  truly  when  he  says  of  him,  in  a  lately-published  eulogy,  "  So  wonderful  a 
man,  and  yet  so  simple, — with  a  great  child-heart  ; — or  rather,  so  simple  because  so 
great,  needing  no  scaffoldings  of  pompous  mannerism  to  buttress  up  an  uncertain 
reputation  ;  but  universally  esteemxcd,  because  he  cared  nought  for  human  opinion, 
but  only  for  what  was  upright,  open-hearted,  and  transparent,  both  in  ministry  and 
lite  ; — we  never  knew  a  public  man  who  had  less  of  self  about  him,  for  over  and 
above  aught  else,  his  sole  ambition  seemed  to  be,  '  How  can  I  most  extol  my 
Lord  ? '  "  These  thoughtful,  discriminating  words  would  have  been  applicable  to  him 
if  they  had  been  written  in  the  long-past  days,  when  his,  mart^ellous  "career  had  but 
just  commenced,  and  his  glorious  life-work  lay  all  before  him. 

The  following  letter  reveals  his  inmost  heart,  and  it  costs  me  a  pang  to  give  it 
publicity  ;  but  it  should  silence  for  ever  the  untrue  charges  of  egotism  and  self- 
conceit  which  have  been  brought  against  him  by  those  who  ought  to  have  known 
better  : — "  I  shall  feel  deeply  indebted  to  you,  if  you  will  pray  very  earnestly  for  me. 
I  fear  I  am  not  so  full  of  love  to  God  as  I  used  to  be.  I  lament  my  sad  decline 
in  spiritual  things.  You  and  others  may  not  have  observed  it,  but  I  am  now 
conscious  of  it,  and  a  sense  thereof  has  put  bitterness  in  my  cup  of  joy.  Oh  !  what 
is  it  to  be  popular,  to  be  successful,  to  have  abundance,  even  to  have  love  so  sweet 
as  yours, — it  I  should  be  left  of  God  to  fall,  and  to  depart  from  His  ways  ?  I  tremble 
at  the  giddy  height  on  which  I  stand,  and  could  wish  myself  unknown,  for  indeed  I 
am  unworthy  of  all  my  honours  and  my  fame.  I  trust  1  shall  now  commence  anew, 
and  wear  no  longer  the  linsey-woolsey  garment  ;  but  I  beseech  you,  blend  your 
hearty  prayers  with  mine,  that  two  of  us  may  be  agreed,  and  thus  will  )ou  promote 
the   usetulness,  and  holiness,  and  happiness  of  one  whom  you  love." 

Then,  some  months  later,  he  wrote  :-— "  The  Patriot  has  a  glowing  account  of 
me,  which  will  tend  to  make  me  more  popular  than  ever.  May  God  preserve  me  ! 
I  believe  all  my  little  troubles  have  just  kept  me  right.  I  should  have  been  upset  by 
flatterv,  had  it  not  been  for  this  lono-  balancing  rod." 

Let  any  impartial  reader  decide  whether  these  are  the  words  of  a  vain  and  selt- 
complacent  man  ! 

The  year  1855  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  and  we  were  looking  forward,  with 
unutterable  joy,  to  having  a  home  of  our  own,  and  being  united  by  the  holy  ties  of  a 
marriage  "made  in  Heaven."     My  beloved  went  to  spend  Christmas  with  his  parents 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  27 

in  Colchester  ;  and  after  a  personal  "  Good-bye,  "  wrote  again  thus  : — "  Sweet  One, — 
How  I  love  you  !  I  long  to  see  you  ;  and  yet  it  is  but  half-an-hour  since  I  left  you. 
Comfort  yourself  in  my  absence  by  the  thought  that  my  heart  is  with  you.  My  own 
gracious  God  bless  you  in  all  things, — in  heart,  in  feeling,  in  life,  in  death,  in  Heaven  ! 
May  your  virtues  be  perfected,  your  prospects  realized,  your  zeal  continued,  your  love 
to  Him  increased,  and  your  knowledge  of  Him  rendered  deeper,  higher,  broader, — 
in  tact,  may  more  than  even  my  heart  can  wish,  or  my  hope  anticipate,  be  yours  for 
ever  !  May  we  be  mutual  blessings  ; — wherein  I  shall  err,  you  will  pardon  ;  and 
wherein  you  may  mistake,  I  will  more  than  overlook.  Yours,  till  Heaven,  and 
then—Q.  H.  S."  ' 

Ah  !  my  husband,  the  blessed  earthly  ties  which  we  welcomed  so  rapturously 
are  dissolved  now,  and  death  has  hidden  thee  from  my  mortal  eyes  ;  but  not  even 
death  can  divide  thee  from  me,  or  sever  the  love  which  united  our  hearts  so  closely. 
I  feel  it  living  and  growing  still,  and  I  believe  it  will  find  its  full  and  spiritual 
development  only  when  we  shall  meet  in  the  glory-land,  and  worship  "  together 
before  the  throne." 

There  is  just  one  relic  of  this  memorable  time.  On  my  desk,  as  I  write  this 
chapter,  there  is  a  book  bearing  the  title  of  The  Pulpit  Library  ;  it  is  the  first 
published  volume  of  my  beloved's  sermons,  and  its  fly-leat  has  the  following 
inscription  : — 

Avc^   A<^  <^<x^    'c4  (^oilS    ^   (^^ 

o7  ?n^  AA)-u^-^^t^'^  Aaj^^-^-^^*^  ou*n^^/C<^ 


Oi%lJ^^<^^ 


,  Jyic^^U^^^^^r-^^ 


28  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

The  wedding-day  was  fixed  for  January  8th,  1856  ;  and  I  think,  till  it  came, 
and  passed,  I  lived  in  a  dreamland  of  excitement  and  emotion,  the  atmosphere  of 
which  was  unfriendly  to  the  remembrance  of  any  definite  incidents.  Our  feet  were 
on  the  threshold  of  the  gate  which  stands  at  the  entry  of  the  new  and  untrodden 
pathway  of  married  life  ;  but  it  was  with  a  deep  and  tender  gladness  that  the 
travellers  clasped  each  other's  hand,  and  then  placed  them  both  in  that  of  the 
Master,  and  thus  set  out  on  their  journey,  assured  that  He  would  be  their  Guicie, 
"  even  unto  death." 

I  have  been  trying  to  recall  in  detail  the  events  of  the — to  me — notable  day  on 
which  I  became  the  loved  and  loving  wife  of  the  best  man  on  God's  earth  ;  but 
most  of  its  hours  are  veiled  in  a  golden  mist,  through  which  they  look  luminous,  but 
indistinct  ; — only  a  tew  things  stand  out  clearly  in  my  memory. 

I  see  a  young  girl  kneeling  by  her  bedside  in  the  early  morning  ;  she  is  awed 
and  deeply  moved  by  a  sense  of  the  responsibilities  to  be  taken  up  that  day,  yet 
happy  beyond  expression  that  the  Lord  has  so  favoured  her  ;  and  there  alone  with 
Him  she  earnestly  seeks  strength,  and  blessing,  and  guidance  through  the  new  lite 
opening  before  her.  The  tiny  upper  chamber  in  Falcon  Square  was  a  very  sacred 
place  that  morning. 

Anon,  I  see  a  very  simply-dressed  damsel,  sitting  by  her  father's  side,  and 
driving  through  the  City  streets  to  New  Park  Street  Chapel, — vaguely  wondering, 
as  the  passers-by  cast  astonished  glances  at  the  wedding  equipage,  whether  they 
all  knew  what  a  vvondertul  bridegroom  she  was  going  to  meet ! 

As  we  neared  our  destination,  it  was  evident  that  many  hundreds  of  people 
did  know  and  care  about  the  man  who  had  chosen  her  to  be  his  bride,  for  the 
building  was  lull  to  overflowing,  and  crowds  of  the  young  preacher's  admirers 
thronged  the  streets  around  the  chapel.  I  do  not  remember  much  more.  Within 
the  densely-packed  place,  I  can  dimly  see  a  large  wedding  party  in  the  table-pew, 
dear  old  Dr.  Alexander  Fletcher  beaming  benignly  on  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
before  him,  and  the  deacons  endeavouring  to  calm  and  satisfy  the  excited  and 
eager  onlookers. 

Then  followed  the  service,  which  made  "  us  twain  most  truly  one,"  and  with  a 
solemn  joy  in  our  hearts  we  stood  hand  in  hand,  and  spake  the  few  brief  words  which 
legally  bound  us  to  each  other  in  blessed  bonds  while  life  lasted.  But  the  golden 
circlet  then  placed  on  my  finger,  though  worn  and  thin  now,  speaks  of  love  beyond 
the  grave,  and  is  the  cherished  pledge  of  a  spiritual  union  which  shall  last  throughout 
eternity. 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  29 

It  would  not  have  been  possible  for  me  to  describe  the  marriage  ceremony, 
or  recollect  the  prayers  and  counsels  then  offered  on  our  behalf  ;  but,  as  reporters 
were  present,  and  I  have  preserved  their  notes,  I  am  able  to  record  ^^in  a  much- 
condensed  form)  some  of  the  Doctor's  kind  and  earnest  words  on  the  memorable 
occasion.     The  service  was  commenced  by  the  congregation  singing  the  hymn, — 

"Salvation,  O  the  joyful  sound!'' 

Dr.  Fletcher  then  read  the  looth  Psalm,  and  offered  the  following  prayer: — 
"  Father  of  mercies,  our  God  and  Father  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  approach  Thy 
throne  in  the  Name  of  our  great  Surety,  our  Intercessor,  now  pleading  for  us  before 
Thy  face  !  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  that  salvation  is  provided  for  our  ruined 
race  !  May  it  be  the  happiness  of  all  here,  constituting  this  immense  assembly,  to 
be  interested  in  that  salvation  !  Oh,  that  each  individual  now  present  on  this  joyful 
occasion  may  be  enabled  to  say,  in  the  language  of  appropriating  faith,  '  Salvation, 
and  pardon,  and  acceptance  are  mine;  Jesus  is  mine,  and  I  am  His!  '  Lord,  look 
upon  us  in  mercy  in  this  place  !  Give  us  Thy  presence,  give  us  Thy  countenance 
and  smile  !  Multitudes  of  prayers  have  ascended  to  Thy  throne  on  behalf  of  our 
beloved  young  friends,  now  about  to  be  united  by  the  most  sacred  union  existing 
under  the  heavens.  Oh,  let  Thy  Spirit  descend  upon  them  !  May  they  feel  that 
they  are  now  enjoying  the  light  of  Thy  countenance,  and  that  this  important  event 
in  their  history  is  under  Thy  blessed  sanction,  by  Thy  blessed  direction,  and  shall  be 
crowned  with  Thy  blessing  while  they  live,  to  be  followed  by  blessings  lasting  as 
eternity,  when  they  are  called  to  their  Heavenly  home  !  Thou,  Lord  Jesus,  who 
wast  present  at  the  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  be  tenderly  with  us  at  this  time,  and 
fill  this  house  with  Thy  glory  !  These,  our  feeble  supplications,  we  present  before 
Thy  mercy-seat  in  the  Name  of  our  exalted  Advocate,  and  to  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit,  be  ascribed  the  kingdom,  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and 
ever.     Amen." 

Address. 

"  Allow  me,  my  respected  friends,  to  address  you  only  for  a  few  moments, 
previous  to  that  most  important  event  which  we  have  met  to  celebrate.  Marriage  is 
not  the  invention  of  man,  it  is  the  institution  of  God.  It  originated  in  God's  wisdom 
and  mercy  ;  and,  if  necessary  for  man  while  in  a  state  of  innocence,  it  is  much  more 
indispensable  for  us  in  our  fallen  condition.  It  bears  the  impress  of  the  Deity,  and 
so  important  is  it  that  it  is  presented  to  us  in  the  Scripture  as  a  figure  of  the  union 
that  is  formed  betwixt  Christ  and  His  chosen  people, — that  marriage  union  which  is 
never  to  end.  Christ  has  honoured  this  institution  by  comparing  Himself  to  the 
Husband  of  the  Church,  and  by  designating  the  Church  as  His  bride.  '  I  have 
espoused  you,'  says  the  apostle  Paul,  when  writing  to  the  believing  Corinthians,  '  I 


30  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

have  espoused  you  to  one  Husband,  that  I  may  present  you  as  a  chaste  virgin  to 
Christ.'  Lool<  at  the  advantages  marriage  confers  upon  individuals,  and  famihes  ;  on 
conmiunities,  on  nations,  and  on  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  founding  of  famiHes 
is  an  epitome  of  the  organization  of  nations,  without  which  they  could  never 
be  properly  consolidated.  Marriage  is  the  foundation  of  all  those  distinguished 
privileges  which  are  enjoyed  by  us  in  this  island  of  the  sea.  I  have  referred  before 
to  the  presence  of  Christ  at  the  marriage  at  Cana  ;  what  a  lovely  sight  it  must  have 
been  to  see  the  blessed  Jesus  in  the  midst  of  that  little  assembly  !  He  blessed  the 
bridegroom,  and  He  blessed  the  bride  ;  He  diffused  joy  through  the  hearts  of  all 
around.  Your  beloved  Pastor  has  many  times,  in  his  preaching,  alluded  to  Christ's 
smiles  ;  and  if  He  smiled  upon  little  children,  whom  He  took  up  in  His  arms  and 
blessed,  He  must  surely  have  smiled  upon  the  bride  and  bridegroom  whose  marriage 
feast  was  graced  by  His  presence.  Lord  Jesus,  Thou  art  here  !  Thy  humanity  is 
in  Heaven,  but  Thy  Deity  pervades  the  universe.  With  the  eyes  of  our  faith  we 
can  see  Jesus  in  the  midst  of  us,  ready  to  bless  both  bride  and  bridegroom.  He  has 
blessed  them  already,  and  He  has  more  blessings  in  reserve  for  their  enjovment, 
felicity,  and  usefulness  ;  and  we  trust  He  will  crown  them,  through  life,  and  through 
all  eternity,  with  lovingkindness  and  tender  mercy." 

[The  ceremony  was  then  performed  in  the  usual  manner.] 

A  portion  of  Scripture  was  read,  the  congregation  joined  in  singing  "  the 
Wedding  Hymn,"  and  Dr.  Fletcher  again  engaged  in  prayer  : — 

"  Look  down,  O  Lord,  with  great  kindness,  complacency,  and  grace  on  our 
beloved  young  friends  who  have  now  entered  into  this  sacred  covenant  with  each 
other !  We  praise  Thee  for  that  grace  which  Thou  hast  given  them,  an  inheritance 
infinitely  more  precious  than  the  wealth  of  empires.  We  praise  Thee  for  the  love 
to  Jesus  which  Thou  hast  enkindled  in  their  hearts,  and  for  that  mutual  affection 
which  they  cherish,  and  by  which  they  are  united  in  the  most  endearing  and  sacred 
ties.  Lord,  bless  them  !  Bless  them  with  increasing  usefulness,  increasing 
happiness,  increasing  enjoyment  of  Thy  fellowship  !  Long  preserve  them  !  May 
they  live  to  a  good  old  age,  like  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  walking  in  all  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless  !  May  this  most  interesting 
relationship  be  accompanied  with  innumerable  mercies,  especially  to  Thy  dear 
ministering  servant,  engaged  in  the  most  honourable  of  all  employments,  and  placed 
by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  in  a  sphere  of  usefulness  .seldom,  if  ever,  equalled 
in  this  land  of  our  nativity  !  Lord,  this  is  Thy  doing  ;  Thou  hast  provided  tor  him 
the  sphere,  and  Thou  hast  fitted  him  by  Thy  providence  and  grace  to  fill  it.  May 
he  be  preserved  in  bodily  vigour,  as  well  as  mental  and  spiritual  strength,  to 
prosecute  that  glorious  work  in  which  he  has  embarked  ;  and  may  he  long  continue  to 
serve  Thee,  and  be  as  useful  at  the  close  of  life  as  he  is  at  the  commencement  of  his 


C.      H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  3I 

career  !  W'e  now  commit  him  and  the  beloved  partner  of  his  days  to  Thine 
everlasting  arms  ;  we  lay  them  in  the  bosom  of  Thy  lo\-e.  Lord,  bless  all  here 
present  !  Vast  is  the  multitude,  but  it  is  nothing  compared  with  the  plenitude  of 
Thy  mercy,  or  the  abundance  of  Thy  grace.  We  thank  Thee  for  presiding  over  the 
assembly,  and  that  no  accident  has  happened  to  this  large  concourse  of  people.  All 
we  ask  is  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.      Amen. 

"  May  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God  the  Father,  and 
the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  us  all,  now  and  for  ever  !     Amen." 

A   London  newspaper,  of   January  9th,  1856,  contained  the  following  notice  of 
our  wedding  : — 

"Yesterday  morning,  a  curious  scene  was  witnessed  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
New  Park  Street  Chapel,  Southwark,  a  large  building  belonging  to  the  Baptist  body 
of  Dissenters,  at  the  rear  of  the  Borough  Market.  Of  this  place  of  worship  the 
minister  is  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  a  very  young  man,  who,  some  months  since, 
produced  an  extraordinary  degree  of  excitement  at  Exeter  Hall,  where  he  preached 
during  the  time  his  chapel  was  in  course  of  enlargement.  Yesterday  morning,  the 
popular  young  preacher  was  married  ;  and  although  the  persons  who  evinced  an 
interest  in  the  proceedings  were  not  quite  of  the  aristocratic  character  of  those  who 
usually  attend  West  End  weddings,  in  point  of  numbers  and  enthusiasm  they  far 
outstripped  any  display  which  the  West  End  is  in  the  habit  of  witnessing.  Shortly 
after  eight  o'clock,  although  the  morning  was  dark,  damp,  and  cold,  as  many  as 
five  hundred  ladies ,  in  light  and  gay  attire,  besieged  the  doors  of  the  chapel, 
accompanied  by  many  gentlemen,  members  of  the  congregation,  and  personal 
friends.  From  that  hour,  the  crowd  increased  so  rapidly,  that  the  thoroughfare 
was  blocked  up  by  vehicles  and  pedestrians,  and  a  body  of  the  M  division  of 
police  had  to  be  sent  for  to  prevent  accidents.  When  the  chapel  doors  were 
opened,  there  was  a  terrific  rush,  and  in  less  than  half-an-hour  the  doors  were 
closed  upon  many  of  the  eager  visitors,  who,  like  the  earlier  and  more  fortunate 
comers,  were  favoured  with  tickets  of  admission.  The  bride  was  Miss  Susannah 
Thompson,  only  daughter  ot  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Falcon  Square,  London  ;  and  the 
ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Fletcher,  of  Finsbury  Chapel. 
At  the  close  of  the  ceremony,  the  congratulations  of  the  congregation  were 
tendered  to  the  newly-married  pair  with  heartiest  goodwill." 

Mr.  Spurgeon's  own  inscription  in  our  family  Bible,  recording  the  marriage, 
and  adding  a  loving  comment  eleven  years  afterwards,  is  reproduced  in  facsimile 
on  the  following  page. 


32 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGKAI'H/. 


<_,? 


jffi^Sf*-*—      ^•^-e-e.4e- 


/*»-v«<fc?4r4-«-:C< 


,-^ 


*^ «v^...w<^Wr^ 

^*i*.*^«^^<.««*  ■i*-^^  *!^(!*«r.  j/zj»'*-' 


-9r>r1>^rMr. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 


i^arlg  Criticisms  aub  Slautitrs. 

In  these  days,  there  is  a  growing  hatred  of  the  pulpit.  The  pulpit  has  maintained  its  ground  full 
many  a  year,  but  partially  by  its  becoming  inefficient,  it  is  losing  its  high  position.  Through  a  timid 
abuse  of  it,  instead  of  a  strong  stiff  use  of  the  pulpit,  the  world  has  come  to  despise  it ;  and  now  most 
certainly  we  are  not  a  priest-ridden  people  one-half  so  much  as  we  are  a  press-ridden  people.  By  the 
press  we  are  ridden  mdeed.  Mercuries,  Despatches,  Journals,  Gazettes,  and  Magazines  are  now  the  judges  of 
pulpit  eloquence  and  style.  They  thrust  themselves  into  the  censor's  seat,  and  censure  those  whose 
office  it  should  rather  be  to  censure  them.  For  my  own  part,  I  cheerfully  accord  to  all  men  the  liberty  of 
abusing  me ;  but  I  must  protest  against  the  conduct  of  at  least  one  Editor,  who  has  misquoted  in  order 
to  pervert  my  meaning,  and  who  has  done  even  more  than  that ;  he  has  manufactured  a  "quotation" 
from  his  own  head,  which  never  did  occur  in  my  works  or  words. — C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  preached  at  the  Music 
Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens,  January  25,  1857. 


HILE  reading-  again  the  letters  referred  to  in  the  preceding  chapters, 
Mrs.  Spurgeon  has  been  reminded  that,  before  her  marriage,  she 
made  a  collection  of  newspaper  cuttings  relating  to  her  beloved. 
As  the  different  articles  appeared,  Mr.  Spurgeon  sent  them  on  to 
her,  usually  saying  with  regard  to  each  one,  "  Here's  another 
contribution  for  your  museum."  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  fill  a 
volume  with  reprints  of  the  notices — favourable  and  otherwise, — of  the  young 
preacher's  first  years  in  London  ;  but  it  is  not  likely  that  any  useful  purpose  would 
be  thereby  served.  It  will  probably  suffice  if  a  selection  is  given  from  the  contents 
of  this  first  scrap-book,  especially  as  the  papers  it  contains  were  published  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom  at  considerable  intervals  during  the  years  1855  and  1856.  They 
are  therefore  fairly  representative  of  the  press  notices  of  the  period,  and  they  will  be 
of  greater  interest  to  many  readers  because  they  were  gathered  by  the  dear  preacher 
himself  The  book  in  which  the  extracts  are  preserved  bears  upon  its  title-page,  in 
his  handwriting,  the  following  inscription  : — 

Jarts,    JFiction,    anti    JTacrttJE. 

The  last  word  might  have  been  Falsehood,  for  there  is  much  that  is  untrue,  and 
very  little  that  can  be  regarded  as  facetious  in  the  whole  series.  Some  of  the 
paragraphs  are  too  abusive  or  too  blasphemous  to  be  inserted  in  this  work  ;  and  one 


34  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

cannot  read  them  without  wondering  how  any  man  could  have  written  in  such  a  cruel 
fashion  concerning  so  young  and  so  earnest  a  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
was  labouring  with  all  his  might  to  bring  sinners  to  the  Saviour.  At  that  early  stage 
of  his  ministry,  he  had  not  become  so  accustomed  as  he  was  in  later  years  to  attacks 
from  all  quarters,  and  his  letters  show  that  he  felt  very  keenly  the  aspersions  and 
slanders  to  which  he  was  subjected.  Occasionally,  also,  he  alluded  from  the  pulpit 
to  this  form  of  fiery  trial.  In  a  sermon,  preached  March  15,  1857,  he  said  : — "  1  shall 
never  forget  the  circumstance,  when,  after  I  thought  I  had  made  a  full  consecration 
to  Christ,  a  slanderous  report  against  my  character  came  to  my  ears,  and  my  heart 
was  broken  in  agony  because  I  should  have  to  lose  that,  in  preaching  Christ's  gospel. 
I  fell  on  m\'  knees,  and  said,  '  Master,  I  will  not  keep  back  e\'en  my  character  tor 
Thee.  If  I  must  lose  that,  too,  then  let  it  go  ;  it  is  the  dearest  thing  I  have  ;  but  it 
shall  go,  if,  like  my  Master,  they  shall  say  I  have  a  devil,  and  am  mad  ;  or,  like  Him, 
I  am  a  drunken  man  and  a  wine-bibber."  In  after  years,  he  was  less  affected  bv  the 
notices  which  appeared.  Perhaps  this  was  all  the  easier  as  the  tone  adopted  bv  most 
oi  the  writers  very  greatly  improved,  while  the  friendly  articles  and  paragraphs  were 
so  much  more  numerous  than  the  unfavourable  ones  that  they  obliterated  the  memory 
of  any  that  might  have  caused  sorrow  and  pain.  The  habit  of  preserving  newspaper 
and  other  records  of  his  career  was  continued  by  Mr.  .Spurgeon  to  the  last  ;  and  as 
each  caricature,  criticism,  or  commendation  came  to  hand,  he  would  sav,  "  That  is 
one  more  for  my  collection,"  while  the  praise  or  blame  it  contained  would  be  of  less 
importance  in  his  esteem  than  his  concern  to  have  a  conscience  void  of  offence 
toward  God  and  men.  Preaching  in  the  Tabernacle,  in  1884,  he  thus  referred 
to  his  early  experience,  and  to  the  change  the  intervening  period  had  witnessed  : — 

"  'They  compassed  me  about  like  bees,'  says  David  ;  that  is  to  say,  they  were 
very  many,  and  very  furious  When  bees  are  excited,  they  are  among  the  most 
terrible  of  assailants  ;  sharp  are  their  stings,  and  they  inject  a  venom  which  sets  the 
blood  on  fire.  I  read,  the  other  day,  of  a  traveller  in  Africa,  who  learned  this  by 
experience.  Certain  negroes  were  pulling  his  boat  up  the  river,  and  as  the  rope  trailed 
along  it  disturbed  a  bees'  nest,  and  in  a  moment  the  bees  were  upon  him  in  his  cabin. 
He  said  that  he  was  stung  in  the  face,  the  hands,  and  the  eyes.  He  was  all  over  a 
mass  of  iire,  and  to  escape  from  his  assailants  he  plunged  into  the  river,  but  they 
persecuted  him  still,  attacking  his  head  whenever  it  emerged  from  the  water.  After 
what  he  suffered  from  them,  he  said  he  would  sooner  meet  two  lions  at  once,  or  a 
whole  herd  of  buffaloes,  than  ever  be  attacked  by  bees  again  ;  so  that  the  simile  which 
David  gives  is  a  very  striking  one  A  company  of  mean-spirited,  wicked  men,  who 
are  no  bigger  than  bees,  mentally  or  spiritually,  can  get  together,  and  sting  a  good 
man  in  a  thousand  places,  till  he  is  well-nigh  maddened  by  their  scorn,  their  ridicule, 
their  slander,  and  their  misrepresentation.    Their  very  littleness  gives  them  the  power 


C.      H.      Sl'URGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAl'HV. 


35 


to  wound  with  impunity.  Such  has  been  the  experience  of  some  of  us,  especially  in 
days  now  happily  past.  For  one,  I  can  say,  I  grew  inured  to  falsehood  and  spite. 
The  stings  at  last  caused  me  no  more  pain  than  if  I  had  been  made  of  iron  ;  but  at 
first  they  were  galling  enough.  Do  not  be  surprised,  dear  friends,  if  you  have  the 
same  experience  ;  and  if  it  conies,  count  it  no  strange  thing,  for  in  this  way  the  saints 
have  been  treated  in  all  time.  Thank  God,  the  wounds  are  not  fatal,  nor  of  long 
continuance  !  Time  brings  ease,  and  use  creates  hardihood.  No  real  harm  has 
come  to  any  of  us  who  have  run  the  gauntlet  of  abuse  ;  not  even  a  bruise  remains." 


According  to  chronological  order,  the  first  serious  attack  resulted  from  the 
publication,  by  Rev.  Charles  Waters  Banks,  in  The  Earthen  Vessel,  December,  1854, 
of  an  article,  the  opening  paragraphs  of  which  appear  on  the  next  page. 


36  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  The  Pastors  of  our  Churches  ;  the  Preachers  of  our  Day. 
"  A  BRIEF  and  impartial   Review  OF  Mr.   Spurgeon's  Ministry. 

["As  we  have  nearly  come  to  the  close  of  another  year,  we  are  striking  out  a 
new  line  of  mental  labour, — it  is  a  glance  at  ministers  as  they  are.  It  is  not  an  easy 
task  ;  but,  then,  we  go  to  this  work  with  a  two-fold  determination, — first,  knowing 
that  there  is  some  good  thing  in  all  good  men,  we  will  try  to  find  out,  and  to  show, 
how  that  good  thing  is  developed  in  different  ways  in  different  men.  Secondly, 
knowing  that  there  are  imperfections  in  all  men,  we  are  determined,  by  help  Divine, 
to  have  no  hand  in  exhibiting  them  :  '  We  can  do  nothing  against  the  truth,  but  for 
the  truth.'] 

"  Mr.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  is  the  present  Pastor  of  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  in  the 
Borough  of  Southwark.  He  is  a  young  man  of  very  considerable  ministerial  talent, 
and  his  labours  have  been  amazingly  successful  in  raising  up  the  before  drooping 
cause  at  Park  Street  to  a  state  of  prosperity  almost  unequalled.  We  know  of  no 
Baptist  minister  in  all  the  metropolis — with  the  exception  of  our  highly-favoured 
and  long-tried  brother,  James  Wells,  of  the  Surrey  Tabernacle, — who  has  such 
crowded  auditories,  and  continued  overflowing"  congregations,  as  Mr.  Spurgeon 
has.  But,  then,  very  solemn  questions  arise.  'What  is  he  doing?'  'Whose 
SERVANT  is  HE  ? '  '  I'Vkat  pTOof  does  Jie  give  that,  instrumentally,  his  is  a  heart- 
searching,  a  Christ-exalting,  a  triith-itnfoldiug,  a  sinner-eonverting,  a  church- 
feeding,  a  soui'Saz'ing  ministry  ? '  This  is  the  point  at  issue  with  many  whom 
we  know, — a  point  which  we  should  rejoice  to  see  clearly  settled — in  the  best 
sense — and  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt  in  the  confidence  of  all  the  true  churches 
of  Christ  in  Christendom.  In  introducing  this  subject  to  the  notice  of  our  readers, 
we  have  no  object  in  view  further  than  a  desire  to  furnish  all  the  material  which 
has  been  thrown  into  our  hands, — a  careful  and  discriminating  examination  of  which 
may,  to  some  extent,  be  edifying  and  profitable.  We  wish  our  present  remarks  to 
be  considered  merely  introductory,  not  conc/usiz'e  ;  but  seeing  that  the  minds  of  so 
many  are  aroused  to  enquiry  as  to  what  may  be  considered  the  real  position  of  this 
young  Samuel  in  the  professing  church,  we  are  disposed  to  search  the  records  now 
before  us,  and  from  thence  fetch  out  all  the  evidence  vve  can  find  expressive  of  a 
real  work  of  grace  in  the  soul,  and  a  Divine  call  to  publish  the  tidings  of  salvation, 
the  mysteries  of  the  cross,  and  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  hearts  of  the 
living  in  Jerusalem  " 

The  article  contained  a  kindly  reference  to  Mr.  Spurgeon's  spiritual  experience, 
and  included  the  friendly  testimony  of  a  recent  hearer,  whose  judgment  carried 
weight  with  Mr.  Banks,  though  his  name  was  not  given  ,  but  most  of  the  space  was 
devoted    to    extracts    from    the    young    preacher's    published    discourses.       In    The 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGR.\PHY. 


Z1 


Eai-then  Vessel  for  the  tollowiny  month  (January,  1855),  a  long  communication  was 
inserted,  bearing  the  signature,  "Job."  Mr.  Spurgeon  believed  that  the  writer  was 
the  redoubtable  James  Wells  ("  King  James,"  see  page  19). 


REV.   JAMES  WELLS. 

The  following  extracts  will  show  how  the  veteran  wrote  concerning  the  stripling 
who  was  destined  far  to  surpass  his  critic  in  fame  and  usefulness  : — 

"  I  hav^e  no  personal  antipathy  to  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;  nor  should  I  have  written 
concerning  him,  but  for  your  review  of  his  ministry.  His  ministry  is  a  public 
matter,  and  therefore  open  to  public  opinion  ;  and  as  you  assure  us  that  the  sermon 
on  I  Cor.  i.  6, — 'The  Testimony  of  Christ  Confirmed  in  Vou,' — by  Mr.  Spurgeon,  is 
by  far  the  best,  I  will,  by  your  permission,  lay  before  you  my  opinion  of  the  same. 
But  I  will  first  make  a  few  remarks  concerning  Mr.  Spurgeon,  to  which  remarks  I 
think  he  is  entitled. 


38  C.     H.     SPURGEON's     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

"  It  is,  then,  in  the  first  place,  clear  that  he  has  been,  from  his  childhood,  a  very 
industrious  and  ardent  reader  of  books,  especially  those  of  a  theological  kind  ;  and 
that  he  has  united  with  his  theological  researches  books  of  classic  and  of  scientific 
caste,  and  has  thus  possessed  himself  of  every  kind  of  information  which,  by  the  law 
of  association,  he  can  deal  out  at  pleasure  ;  and  these  acquirements,  by  reading,  are 
united,  in  Mr.  Spurgeon,  with  good  speaking  gifts.  The  laws  of  oratory  have  been 
well  studied,  and  he  suits  the  action  to  his  words.  This  mode  of  public  speaking 
was,  in  the  theatres  of  ancient  Greece,  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  one  person  had 
to  speak  the  words,  and  another  had  to  perform  the  gestures,  and  suit,  with  every 
variety  of  face  and  form,  the  movement  to  the  subject  in  hand.  Mr.  Spurgeon  has 
caught  the  idea,  only  with  this  difference,  that  he  performs  both  parts  himself 
Mr.  Spurgeon  is  too  well  acquainted  with  Elisha  Coles  not  to  see  in  the  Bible  the 
sovereignty  of  God  ;  and  too  well  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  Toplady  and 
Tucker  not  to  see  in  the  Bible  the  doctrine  ol  predestination,  and  an  overruling 
providence  ;  and  too  well  versed  in  the  subtleties  of  the  late  Dr.  Chalmers  not  to 
philosophize  upon  rolling  planets,  and  methodically-moving  particles  of  earth  and 
water,  each  particle  having  its  ordained  sphere. 

"  But,  in  addition  to  this,  he  appears  to  be  a  well-disposed  person, — kind, 
benevolent,  courteous,  full  of  goodwill  to  his  fellow-creatures, — endearing  in  his 
manners,  social, — a  kind  of  person  whom  it  would  seem  almost  a  cruelty  to  dislike. 
The  same  may  be,  with  equal  truth,  said  both  of  Dr.  Pusey  and  of  Cardinal 
Wiseman.  But,  then,  it  becomes  us  to  be  aware,  not  only  of  the  rough  garment  of 
a  mock  and  'arrogant  humility',  but  also  of  Amalekite-measured  and  delicate  steps  ; 
and  also  of  the  soft  raiment  of  refined  and  studied  courtesy  (Matt.  xi.  8),  and 
fascinating  smile  with,  'Surely  the  bitterness  of  death  is  past'  (i  Sam.  xv.  32). 
But  Samuel  had  too  much  honesty  about  him  to  be  thus  deceived.  We  must,  then, 
beware  of  words  that  are  smoother  than  butter,  and  softer  than  oil  (Psalm  Iv.  21). 
Not  one  of  the  Reformers  appears  to  have  been  of  this  amiable  caste  ;  but  these 
creature-refinements  pass  with  thousands  for  religion  ;  and  tens  of  thousands  are 
deluded  thereby.  It  was  by  great,  very  great  politeness  that  the  serpent  beguiled 
Eve  ;  and,  unhappily,  her  posterity  love  to  have  it  so  ; — so  true  is  it  that  Satan  is 
not  only  a  prince  of  darkness,  but  transformed  also  as  'an  angel  of  light,'  to  deceive, 
if  it  were  possible,  even  the  very  elect. 

"And  yet  further  than  all  this,  Mr.  Spurgeon  was,  so  says  the  Vessel,  brought 
to  know  the  Lord  when  he  was  only  fifteen  years  old.  Heaven  grant  it  may  prove 
to  be  so, — for  the  young  man's  sake,  and  for  that  of  others  also  !  But  I  have — most 
solemnly  have— my  doubts  as  to  the  Divine  reality  of  his  conversion.  I  do  not  say — 
it  is  not  for  me  to  say — that  he  is  not  a  regenerated  man  ;  but  this  I  do  know,  that 
there    are    conversions    which  are   not   of   God  ;    and    whatever   convictions  a   man 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  39 

mav  have,  whatever  mav  be  the  agonies  ot  his  mind  as  to  the  possibihty  of  his 
salvation,  vi'hatever  terror  anyone  may  experience,  anil  however  sincere  they  may  be, 
and  whatever  deliverance  they  may  have  by  dreams  or  visions,  or  by  natural 
conscience,  or  the  letter  or  even  apparent  power  of  the  Word,  yet,  if  they  cannot 
stand,  in  their  spirit  and  ministry,  the  test  of  the  law  of  truth,  and  the  testimony  of 
God,  there  is  no  trite  light  in  them  ;  for  a  person  may  be  intellectually  enlightened, 
he  may  taste  of  the  Heavenly  gift,  and  be  made  partaker  ot  the  Holy  Ghost, 
professionally,  and  taste  of  the  good  Word  of  God  (Hebrews  vi.),  and  yet  not  be 
regenerated,  and  therefore  not  beyond  the  danger  of  tailing  away,  even  from  that 
portion  of  truth  which  such  do  hold.  Such  are  never  thoroughly  convinced  of  what 
thev  are  by  nature  ;  Psalm  xxxviii.  and  Romans  vii.  show  a  path  to  which  they  make 
some  approaches,  and  of  which  they  may  eloquently  talk,  but  at  the  same  time  give 
certain  proofs  that  they  are  not  truly  walking  therein.  Mr.  Spurgeon  tells  us,  in  his 
sermon  on  the  Ministry  of  Angels,  that  he  has  more  angelology  about  him  than 
most  people.  Well,  perhaps  he  has  ;  but  then,  if  a  real  angel  from  Heaven  were 
to  preach  another  gospel,   he  is   not  to  be  received.  .  .  . 

"  Concerning  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ministry,  I  believe  the  following  things  : — 

"  1st.  That  it  is  most  awfully  deceptive  ;  that  it  passes  by  the  essentials  of  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  sets  people  by  shoals  down  for  Christians  who  are  not 
Christians  by  the  quickening  and  indwelling  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence,  free- 
willers,  intellectual  Calvinists,  high  and  low,  are  delighted  with  him,  together  with  the 
philosophic  and  classic-taste  Christian  !  This  is  simply  deceiving  others  with  the 
deception  wherewith  he  himself  is  deceived. 

"  2nd.  That,  as  he  speaks  some  truth,  convictions  will  in  some  cases  take  place 
under  his  ministry  ;  such  will  go  into  real  concern  for  their  salvation  ;  and  will,  after 
a  time,  leave  his  ministry,  for  a  ministry  that  can  accompany  them  in  their  rugged 
paths  of  wilderness  experience. 

"  3rd.  Though  I  do  not  attach  the  moral  worth  to  such  a  ministry  as  I  should 
to  the  true  ministry  of  the  Spirit,  yet  it  may  be  morally  and  socially  beneficial  to  some 
people,  who  perhaps  would  care  to  hear  only  such  an  intellectually,  or  rather  rhetori- 
cally-gifted man  as  is  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;  but  then  they  have  this  advantage  at  tiie 
cost  of  being  fatally  deluded. 

"4th.  My  opinion  is,  and  my  argument  is,  and  my  conclusion  is,  that  no  man 
who  knows  his  own  heart,  who  knows  what  the  daily  cross  means,  and  who  knows 
the  difference  between  the  form  and  the  power,  the  name  and  the  life  itself,  the 
semblance  and  the  substance,  the  difference  between  the  sounding  brass  or  the 
tinkling  cymbal  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle,  pouring  the  plaintive,  but  healing  notes  of 
Calvary  into  the  solitary  and  weary  soul  ; — he  who  walks  in  this  path,  could  not  hear 
with  profit  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Spurgeon. 


40  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

"  5th.  I  believe  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  could  not  have  fallen  into  a  line  of  things 
more  adapted  to  popularity  :  his  ministry  pays  its  address  courteously  to  all  ;  hence, 
in  this  sermon,  he  graciously  receives  us  all, — such  a  reception  as  it  is, — he  who 
preaches  all  doctrine,  and  he  who  preaches  no  doctrine  ;  he  who  preaches  all 
experience,  and  he  who  preaches  no  e.xperience  ;  and,  hence,  iiitellcctiially  High 
Calvinists  of  t'rt'.s;;' zv/Yz/t' receive  such  a  ministry  into  their  pulpits,  at  once  showing 
that  the  man  of  sin,  the  spirit  of  apostacy,  is  lurking  in  their  midst.  Low  Calvinists 
also  receive  him,  showing  that  there  is  enough  of  their  spirit  about  him  to  make  him 
their  dear  brother ;  only  his  Hyperism  does  sometimes  get  a  little  in  their  way,  but 
they  hope  experience  will  soon  take  away  this  Calvinistic  taint,  and  so  make  things 
more  agreeable.  But  in  this  1  believe  they  will  be  disappointed  ;  he  has  chosen  his 
sphere,  his  orbit  may  seem  to  be  eccentric,  but  he  will  go  intellectually  shining  on, 
throwing  out  his  cometary  attractions,  crossing  the  orbits  of  all  the  others,  seeming 
friendly  with  all,  yet  belonging  to  none. 

"  His  originality  lies  not  in  the  materials  he  uses,  but  in  ranging  them  into  an 
order  that  suits  his  own  turn  of  mind  ;  at  this  he  industriously  labours.  (In  this  he  is 
a  reproof  to  some  ministers  of  our  own  denomination  who  are  not  industrious,  nor 
studious,  nor  diligent,  but  sluggish,  slothful,  negligent,  e'mpty-headed,  and  in  the 
pulpit  as  well  as  in  the  parlour,  empty-handed.  Preaching  then  is  like  sowing  the 
wind,  and  reaping  the  whirlwind  ;  and  many  on  this  account  leave  our  ministers,  and 
prefer  a  half-way  gospel,  ingenuously  and  enthusiastically  preached,  to  a  whole 
gospel,  not  half  preached,  or  preached  without  variety,  life,  or  power.  May  the 
Lord  stir  up  His  own  servants,  that  they  may  work  while  it  is  day  !) 

"  But,  in  conclusion,  I  say, — I  would  make  every  allowance  for  his  youth  ;  but 
while  I  make  this  allowance,  I  am,  nevertheless,  thoroughly  disposed  to  believe  that 
we  have  a  fair  sample  of  what  he  will  be  even  unto  the  end." 

This  letter  was  followed  by  editorial  comments,  and  a  long  correspondence,  pro 
and  con.  "  Job  "  wrote  again,  explaining  one  expression  he  had  previously  used, 
but  making  even  more  definite  his  assertion  concerning  what  he  supposed  to  be 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  lack  of  true  spiritual  life  : — 

"  Dear  Mr.  Editor, — In  one  part  of  my  review  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermon,  I  have 
said  of  him,  as  a  minister,  '  I  am  thoroughly  (it  should  have  been  strongly)  disposed  to 
believe  that  we  have  a  fair  sample  of  what  he  will  he  to  the  end.'  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  some  persons  have  tried  to  make  the  above  mean  that,  as  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  in  a 
state  of  nature  now,  he  will  so  continue  even  unto  the  end  ;  whereas,  I  neither  did, 
nor  do  I  mean,  any  such  thing  :  all  I  mean  is,  that  his  ministry,  as  it  now  is,  is  I  am 
strongly  disposed  to  believe  a  fair  sample  ot  what  it  will  be  even  unto  the  end.  I  do 
not  here  refer  to  his  personal  destiny  at  all, — though  no  doubt  many  would  have 


C.     H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  4I 

been  glad   to  have  seen   me   commit   myself,   by   rushing  in   '  where  angels   fear  to 
tread.'  .   .   . 

"  I  am,  Mr.  Editor,  credibly  informed  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  hiinse/f  intends  taking- 
no  notice  of  what  I  have  written  ;  and  if  I  am  to  be  counted  an  enemy  because  I 
have  spoken  what  I  believe  to  be  the  truth  (Gal.  iv.  16),  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
bear  the  reproach  thereof;  and  most  happy  should  I  be  to  have  just  cause  to  think 
differently  of  his  ministry  ;  but  I  am  at  present  (instead  of  being  shaken,)  more  than 
ever  confirmed  in  what  I  have  written.  I  beg  therefore  to  say  that  anything  said 
upon  the  subject  by  Mr.  Spurgeon's  friends  will  be  to  me  as  straws  thrown  against  a 
stone  wall  (Jeremiah  i.  18),  and  of  which  I  shall  take  no  notice.  Only  let  them 
beware  lest  a  voice  from  Him,  by  whom  actions  are  weighed,  say  unto  them,  'Ye 
have  not  spoken  of  Me  the  thing  that  is  right,  as  My  servant  Job  hath  '  (Job  xlii.  7.) " 

Mr.  Wells  long  continued  his  spirit  of  opposition  to  Mr.  Spurgeon,  even  refusing 
to  fulfil  an  engagement  to  preach  because  his  brother-minister  was  to  take  one  of  the 
services  on  the  same  day  ;  but  many  of  his  strict  Baptist  brethren  did  not  sympathize 
with  him  in  his  action,  and  cordially  welcomed  the  young  preacher  who  held  so  man\' 
truths  that  were  dear  also  to  them 

The  Editor  of  The  Earthen  Vessel  (Mr.  Banks)  published,  in  later  numbers  of 
his  Magazine  for  1855,  three  articles  from  his  own  pen,  in  the  course  of  which, 
reviewing  Mr.  Spurgeon's  life  and  ministry  up  to  that  time,  he  wrote  : — 

"  It  was  a  nice  word  of  Richard  Sibbes  when  he  said,  '  The  ojjicc  of  a  minister 
is  to  be  a  wooer,  to  make  up  the  marriage  between  Christ  and  Christian  souls : '  and 
we  will  plainly  speak  our  minds  ; — we  have  hoped  that  C.  H.  Spurgeon's  work,  in 
the  hands  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  woo  and  to  win  souls  over  unto  Jesus  Christ  ;  and 
we  have  an  impression,  should  his  life  be  spared,  that,  through  his  instrumentality, 
all  our  churches  will,  by-and-by,  be  increased.  God  Almighty  grant  that  we  may  be 
true  prophets  ;  and  then,  to  all  our  cruel  correspondents  we  will  say,  '  Fire  away  ; 
cut  up,  cast  out,  and  condemn  The  Earthen  Vessel  as  much  as  ye  may,  ye  will  do 
us  no  harm.'  .  .  .  We  have  no  ground  for  suspecting  the  genuineness  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  motives,  nor  the  honesty  of  his  heart.  We  are  bound  to  believe  that 
his  statements  respecting  his  own  experience  are  just  and  true.  We  are  bound 
to  believe  that,  in  prosecuting  his  ministry,  he  is  sincerely  aiming  at  three 
things, — THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST, — the  good  of  immortal  souls, — and  the  zvell- 
being  of  Zion, — and  that,  in  all  this,  the  love  of  Christ  constrains  him.  If,  in 
thoroughly  weighing  the  sermons  before  us,  proof  to  the  contrary  appeared,  we 
would  not  hide  it  up  ;  but  we  sincerely  trust  no  evidence  of  that  kind  can  be 
produced.  ...  In  the  course  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ministry,  there  are  frequently  to 
be  found  such  gushings  forth  of  love  to  God,  of  ravishing  delights  in  Christ,  of  the 


42  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

powerful  anointings  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  compel  us  to  believe  that  God  is  in  him 
ot  a  truth.  We  must  confess  that  is  the  deep-wrought  conviction  of  our  spirit  ;  and 
we  dare  not  conceal  it.  Why  should  we  ?  We  may  be  condemned  by  many  ;  but, 
whate\'er  it  may  cast  upon  us, — whoever  may  discard  us, — we  must  acknowledge 
that,  while  in  these  sermons  we  have  met  with  sentences  that  perple.x  us,  and  with 
what  some  might  consider  contradiction,  still,  we  have  found  those  things  which 
have  been  powerful  demonstrations  of  the  indwelling  of  the  life  and  the  love 
OF  THE  Triune  God  in  the  preacher's  heart. 

"In  thus  giving,  without  reserve,  an  imbiassed  verdict  respecting  the  main 
drift  of  the  sermons  contained  in  The  New  Park  Street  Pulpit,  we  do  not  endorse 
every  sentence,  nor  justify  every  mode  of  expression  ;  our  first  work  has  been  to 
search  for  that  which,  in  every  Jtew  zvork  that  comes  to  hand,  we  always  search  for, — 
that  which  we  search  for  in  every  candidate  for  church-membership, — that  is,  life  : 
and  if  we  have  not  found  evidences  of  a  Divine  life  in  the  ministry  at  New  Park 
.Street  Chapel,  we  are  deceived  ;  yea,  we  are  blind  ;  and  the  powers  of  spiritual 
discernment  are  not  with  us.  .  .  .  We  beseech  all  Christian  people,  who  long  for  a 
revival  in  the  midst  of  our  churches,  to  pray  for  this  young  man,  ivhoni  we  do 
caniestlx  hope  the  Lord  has  sent  amongst  us.  Let  us  not  be  found  fighting 
against  him,  lest  unhappily  we  be  found  fighting  against  God.  Let  us  remember, 
he  has  not  made  himself  he  has  not  qualified  himself,  he  has  not  sent  himself;  all 
that  he  has,  which  is  good.  Godlike,  and  gracious,  the  Lord  has  given  him  ; — all 
that  he  is  doing,  that  is  of  real  benefit  to  immortal  souls,  the  Lord  is  doing  bv  him." 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 


^arlg  Criticisms  anij  Slaubers  (Confhmed) 

There  are  some  of  us  who  come  in  for  a  very  large  share  of  slander.  It  is  seldom  that  the  slander 
market  is  much  below  par ;  it  usually  runs  up  at  a  rapid  rate ;  and  there  are  persons  who  will  take 
shares  to  any  amount.  If  inen  could  dispose  of  railway  stock  as  they  can  of  slander,  those  who  happen 
to  have  any  scrip  would  be  rich  enough  by  to-morrow  at  twelve  o'clock.  There  are  some  who  have  a 
superabundance  of  that  matter;  they  are  continually  hearing  rumours  of  this,  that,  and  the  other;  and 
there  is  one  fool  or  another  who  has  not  brains  enough  to  write  sense,  nor  honesty  sufficient  to  keep  him 
to  the  truth,  who,  therefore,  writes  the  most  infamous  libels  upon  some  of  God's  servants,  compared 
with  whom  he  himself  is  nothing,  and  whom  for  very  envy  he  chooses  to  depreciate.  Well,  what  matters 
it  ?  .  .  .  Young  men,  are  you  striving  to  do  good,  and  do  others  impute  wrong  motives  to  you?  Do 
not  be  particular  about  answering  them ;  just  go  straight. on,  and  your  life  will  be  the  best  refutation  of 
the  calumny.  David's  brother  said  that,  in  his  pride  and  the  naughtiness  of  his  heart,  he  had  come  to  see 
the  battle.  "  Ah  !  "  thought  David,  "  I  will  answer  you  by-and-by."  Off  he  went  across  the  valley  to  fight 
Goliath  ;  he  cut  off  his  head,  and  then  came  back  to  his  brother  with  a  glorious  answer  in  his  conquering 
hand.  If  any  man  desires  to  reply  to  the  false  assertions  of  his  enemies,  he  need  not  say  a  word ;  let 
him  go  and  do  good,  that  will  be  his  answer.  I  am  the  subject  of  detraction,  but  I  can  point  to  hundreds 
of  souls  that  have  been  saved  by  my  feeble  instrumentality,  and  my  reply  to  all  my  eneinies  is  this, 
"  You  may  say  what  you  like  ;  you  may  find  fault  with  the  matter  and  manner  of  my  preaching,  but  God 
saves  souls  by  it,  and  I  will  hold  up  that  fact,  like  giant  Goliath's  head,  to  show  you  that,  although  my 
preaching  is  only  like  David's  sling  and  stone,  God  has  thereby  gotten  the  victory."-  C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon 
pleached  al  Exeltr  Hall,  June  15,  185^ 

I  do  not  e.xpect  to  see  so  many  conversions  in  this  place  as  I  had  a  year  ago,  when  I  had  far  fewer 
hearers.  Do  you  ask  why  ?  'Why,  a  year  ago,  I  was  abused  by  everybody  ;  to  mention  my  name,  was  to 
mention  the  name  of  the  most  abominable  buffoon  that  ever  lived.  The  mere  utterance  of  it  brought 
forth  oaths  and  curses  ;  with  many  men  it  was  the  name  of  contempt,  kicked  about  the  street  as  a 
football  ;  but  then  God  gave  me  souls  by  hundreds,  who  were  added  to  my  church,  and  in  one  year  it 
was  my  happiness  personally  to  see  not  less  than  a  thousand  who  had  then  been  converted.  I  do 
not  expect  that  now.  My  name  is  somewhat  esteemed,  and  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  think  it  no 
dishonour  to  sit  at  my  feet ;  but  this  makes  me  fear  lest  my  God  should  forsake  me  while  the  world 
esteems  me.  I  would  rather  be  despised  and  slandered  than  aught  else.  This  assembly,  that  you  think 
so  grand  and  fine,  I  would  readily  part  with,  if  by  such  a  loss  I  could  gain  a  greater  blessing.  ...  It 
is  for  us  to  recollect,  in  all  times  of  popularity,  that  "  Crucify  Him  !  Crucify  Him !"  follows  fast  upon  the 
heels  of  "  Hosanna  !  "  and  that  the  crowd  of  to-day,  if  dealt  with  faithfully,  may  turn  into  the  handful  of 
to-morrow ;  for  men  love  not  plain  speaking.  'We  should  learn  to  be  despised,  learn  to  be  contemned, 
learn  to  be  slandered,  and  then  we  shall  learn  to  be  made  useful  by  God.  Down  on  my  knees  have  I 
often  fallen,  with  the  hot  sweat  rising  from  my  brow,  under  some  fresh  slander  poured  upon  me  ;  in  an 
agony  of  grief,  my  heart  has  been  well-nigh  broken  ;  till  at  last  I  learned  the  art  of  bearing  all,  and 
caring  for  none.  And  now  my  grief  runneth  in  another  line,  it  is  just  the  opposite  ;  I  fear  lest  God 
should  forsake  me,  to  prove  that  He  is  the  Author  of  salvation,  that  it  is  not  in  the  preacher,  that  it  is 
not  in  the  crowd,  that  it  is  not  in  the  attention  I  can  attract,  but  in  God,  and  in  God  alone.  This  I  hope 
1  can  say  from  my  heart, — if  to  be  made  as  the  mire  of  the  streets  again,  if  to  be  the  laughing-stock  of 
fools  and  the  song  of  the  drunkard  once  more  will  make  me  more  serviceable  to  my  Master,  and  more 
useful  to  His  cause,  I  will  prefer  it  to  all  this  multitude,  or  to  all  the  applause  that  man  could  give. — 
C.  H.  S  ,  in  sermon  preached  at  the  Music  Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens,  May  10,  1857. 

HE  next  attack  to  the  one  described  in  the  previous  chapter  was 
of  a  very  different  character.  It  was  contained  in  the  following 
paragraph  published  by  The  Ipsivich  Express,  February  27,  1855, 
in  a  letter  from  its  London  correspondent : — 

''A    Clerical  Poltroon. — There  is  some  little  excitement  in  the 
religious  world,  created  by  a  young  man,  a   Baptist  minister,   and 
whose  father,    I   am  told,  is  an   Independent  minister  of  the  name  of  Spurgeon,  in 


44  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

Colchester.  This  youth  is  fluent,  and  the  consequences  are  most  distressing.  As 
his  own  chapel  is  under  repair,  he  preaches  in  Exeter  Hall  every  Sunday,  and  the 
place  is  crammed  to  suffocation.  All  his  discourses  are  redolent  of  bad  taste,  are 
vulgar  and  theatrical,  and  yet  he  is  so  run  after  that,  unless  you  go  half-an-hour 
before  the  time,  you  will  not  be  able  to  get  in  at  all.  I  am  told,  one  leading  minister 
of  the  Independent  denomination,  after  hearing  this  precocious  youth,  said  that  the 
exhibition  was  'an  insult  to  God  and  man.'  Actually,  I  hear,  the  other  Sunday,  the 
oifted  divine  had  the  impudence,  before  preaching,  to  say,  as  there  were  many  young 
ladies  present,  that  he  was  engaged, — that  his  heart  it  was  another's,  he  wished  them 
clearly  to  understand  that, — that  he  might  have  no  presents  sent  him,  no  attentions 
paid  him,  no  worsted  slippers  worked  for  him  by  the  young  ladies  present.  I 
suppose  the  dear  divine  has  been  rendered  uncomfortable  by  the  fondness  of  his 
female  auditors  ;  at  any  rate,  such  is  the  impression  he  wishes  to  leave.  The  only 
impression,  however,  he  seems  to  have  produced  upon  the  judicious  few  is  one  of 
intense  sorrow  and  regret  that  such  things  should  be,  and  that  such  a  man  should 
draw." 

Mr.  Spurgeon's  feeling  about  the  matter  can  be  judged  by  the  following  letter 
to  his  father  : — 

"  75,  Dover  Road, 

"  4th  March,  1855. 

"  Dear  Father, 

"  Do  not  be  grieved  at  the  slanderous  libel  in  this  week's  Express.   .   .   . 

"Of  course,  it  is  ail  a  lie,  without  an  atom  of  foundation  ;  and  while  the  whole 
of  London  is  talking  of  me,  and  thousands  are  unable  to  get  near  the  door,  the 
opinion  of  a  penny-a-liner  is  of  little  consequence. 

"  I  beseech  you  not  to  write  ;  but  if  you  can  see  Mr.  Harvey,  or  some  official,  it 
might  do  good.      A  full  reply  on  all  points  will  appear  next  week. 

"  I  only  fear  for  you  ;  I  do  not  like  you  to  be  grieved.  For  myself  I  will 
RETOICE  ;  the  devil  is  roused,  the  Church  is  awakening,  and  I  am  now  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  for  Christ's  sake.  .  .  .  Good  ballast,  father,  good  ballast  ;  but, 
oh  !   remember  what  I  have  said  before,  and  do  not  check  me. 

"  Last  night,  I  could  not  sleep  till  morning  light,  but  now  my  Master  has 
cheered  me  ;  and  I  'hail  reproach,  and  welcome  shame.' 

"  Love  to  vou  all,  especially  to  my  dearest  mother.  I  mean  to  come  home 
April  1 6th.      So,  amen. 

"  Your  affectionate  son, 

"C.    H.   .Sturgeon." 


C.     H.     STURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  45 

On  March  6,  The  Ipswich  Express  contained  the  following  paragraphs  : — 
"The  Rev.  C.   H.  Spurgeon. 

"A  gentleman  of  good  position  in  London  complains,  as  'a  friend  of  the  Rev. 
C.  H.  Spurgeon,'  of  the  statements  respecting  that  gentleman,  last  week,  in  the 
letter  of  our  London  correspondent,  which  are,  he  assures  us,  '  a  tissue  of  false- 
hoods.' That  being  the  case,  we  lose  no  time  in  contradicting  them,  and  at  the 
same  time  expressing  our  regret  that  they  should  have  appeared  in  our  columns. 
Of  Mr.  Spurgeon  we  know  nothing  personally,  and,  of  course,  can  have  no  desire  to 
say  anything  which  should  cause  pain  to  him  or  his  friends.  It  has  been,  and  will 
still  be,  our  constant  desire  in  criticising  public  men  to  avoid  anything  like  per- 
sonalities. We  much  regret  that  our  London  correspondent  should  have  reported 
mere  hearsay  (which  we  are  now  informed  was  incorrect)  respecting  Mr.  Spurgeon, 
and  also  that  we  did  not  give  his  letter  that  revision  before  its  appearance  in  print 
which  all  letters  for  the  press  should  receive,  but  which  Editors,  in  the  hurry  of  the 
day  of  publication,  are  too  apt  to  neglect. 

"  A  London  publisher  also  sends  us  a  sermon  delivered  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  on 
the  iith  ult.,  at  Exeter  Hall,  stating  that  we  ought  to  read  and  review  it,  injustice 
to  the  rev.  gentleman.  We  have  received,  from  an  anonymous  correspondent  in 
London,  another  sermon  delivered  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  last  November,  accompanied 
by  a  like  request.  It  is  not  our  habit  to  review  sermons  ;  but,  under  the  circum- 
stances, we  admit  the  justice  of  these  demands,  and  shall  comply  with  them.  Our 
correspondent  having  criticised  Mr.  Spurgeon's  preaching  (harshly,  as  the  friends  of 
the  preacher  think),  we  shall  consider  ourselves  bound  to  take  an  opportunity  of 
reviewing  these  discourses.  In  so  doing,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  may  be 
assured  we  shall  bring  to  the  task  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  a  perfectly  unbiassed 
judgment ;  we  shall  'nothing  extenuate,  nor  set  down  aught  in  malice.'  " 

The  Editor  published  several  letters  from  those  who  wrote  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
defence,  as  well  as  from  others  who  attacked  him,  and  on  April  24  he  commenced  his 
promised  review  of  the  sermons,  as  follows  : — 

"Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve  greatness,  and  some  have  greatness  thrust 
upon  them.  We  have  had,  in  a  measure,  the  reviewal  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons 
thrust  upon  us,  and  in  the  fulfilment  of  our  task  we  may,  perhaps,  assist  our  readers 
to  judge  whether  that  gentleman  has  achieved  any  real,  permanent  greatness,  or 
whether  he  has  had  a  factitious,  fleeting  greatness  thrust  upon  him  by  his  ignorant 
admirers. 

"The  Express  of  February  27th  contained,  as  usual,  a  letter  from  our  London 
correspondent,  a  gentleman  favourably  known  as  a  writer  on  politics  and  general 
literature.     This  letter  contained  some   rather  severe  criticism   on   Mr.    Spurgeon's 


46  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

style  of  preaching,  and  a  line  or  two  respecting  a  rumour,  heard  by  our  correspon- 
dent, of  some  absurd  remarks  said  to  have  been  made  on  a  certain  occasion  by  Mr. 
Spurgeon  previous  to  preaching.  We  did  not  read  the  letter  until  it  appeared  in 
print.  ...  As  soon  as  we  saw  the  paragraph,  we  blamed  ourselves  for  publishina, 
as  well  as  our  correspondent  for  forwarding,  anything  of  mere  hearsay  which  could 
possibly  give  annoyance  to  the  preacher  in  question  or  his  friends.  And  we  have 
since  learned,  on  the  undoubted  authority  of  his  own  published  effusions,  that  Mr. 
Spurgeon  really  does  run  into  so  many  extravagancies  that  to  attribute  to  him  any 
which  he  has  never  perpetrated  would  not  only  be  a  wrong,  but  a  '  wasteful  and 
ridiculous  excess.' 

"  However,  in  a  day  or  two,  we  received  from  several  of  Mr.  Spuroeon's 
acquaintances  (some  of  them  his  intimate  friends)  a  flat  contradiction  of  the  absurd 
story  of  '  the  slippers.'  For  the  credit  of  the  ministry  we  were  glad  to  have  it 
thus  authoritatively  denied,  and  lost  no  time  in  stating  our  sincere  regret  that  we  had, 
through  an  inadvertence,  given  publicity  to  an  incorrect  report.  More  than  this,  we 
published  several  of  the  longest  letters  out  of  the  many  we  received  from  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  friends, — stuffed  full  of  the  most  glowing  eulogiums  of  that  gentleman  as 
a  minister  and  a  man, — and  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  some  very  ardent  in  his 
cause,  we  promised  to  review  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons.  We  printed  about  twenty 
times  as  much  in  his  praise  as  had  appeared  in  his  dispraise, — we  courteously  carried 
on  for  some  time  a  considerable  correspondence  with  the  London  Spurgeonites, — 
and  although  we  think  theology  is  out  of  place  in  a  newspaper,  we  agreed,  for  once, 
rather  than  the  least  injustice  should  be  committed,  to  step  out  of  our  usual  course, 
and  criticise  sermons.  Could  we  do  more.''  Indeed,  the  line  we  took  showed  so 
clearly  the  absence  of  any  ill-feeling  on  our  part  to  Mr.  Spurgeon,  that  the  gentleman 
who  first  (rather  angr'ly)  called  our  attention  to  the  obnoxious  paragraph,  finished  a 
lengthy  correspondence  with  us  by  saying,  '  I  am  perfecdy  satisfied  with  your 
explanation,  and  think  it  does  you  honour.'" 

The  "review"  was  continued  on  May  ist,  and  concluded  on  May  29th.  The 
tone  of  it  may  be  judged  from  the  closing  paragraphs  : — "  There  is  enough  foolish- 
ness in  London  to  keep  up,  in  flourishing  style,  Tom  Thumb,  Charles  Kean,  the  Living 
Skeleton,  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  and  many  other  delusions  all  at  once,  and  yet  to  allow  a 
vast  mass  of  sober-minded  citizens  to  go  '  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,'  quite 
unaffected  by  such  transient  turmoils.  Our  decided  opinion  is,  that  in  no  other  place 
but  London  could  Mr.  Spurgeon  have  caused  the  fiwor  that  he  has  excited.  It  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  in  London,  or  anywhere  else,  a  religious  delusion  is,  of  all 
others,  the  most  easy  to  maugurate  and  carry  on.  When  a  man  obtains  possession 
of   a    pulpit,    he    has   credit    for    meaning   well,   at    any  rate,    and    expressions    are 


C.      11.      Sl'URGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  47 

thenceforward  often  listened  to  from  him,  without  hostile  criticism,  which  would  not 
be  tolerated,  if  enunciated  from  any  other  position. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon's  career  is  suggestive  of  various  interesting  questions.  If  such 
a  man  can  obtain,  in  a  short  time,  the  position  he  now  certainly  occupies,  does  that 
tact  say  much  for  the  condition  of  a  great  portion  of  the  religious  world?  If  Mr.  S. 
be,  as  is  stated,  the  very  best  among  a  large  section  of  preachers,  what  sort  of  a  man 
is  the  very  worst  of  that  section  ?  Does  the  pulpit,  upon  the  whole,  keep  pace  with 
the  age,  or  does  it  lag  behind  ?  Will  not  the  immense  success  of  such  as  Spurgeon  go 
far  to  account  for  that  aversion  of  men  of  taste  to  the  public  profession  of  R\-angelical 
Religion  complained  of  long  ago  by  John  Foster  ?  " 

Although  the  falsehood  published  in  TIic  Ipsioicli  Express  was  promptl)'  con- 
tradicted, it  was  widely  copied  into  other  papers.  The  Empire  (London),  and  The 
christian  Xeivs  (Glasgow),  published  the  paragraph  in  full,  while  portions  of  it  were 
incorporated  into  articles  that  appeared  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  the 
story  of  "  the  slippers  "  was  repeated  so  often  that  probably  many  people  were 
foolish  enough  to  believe  it,  and  others  were  wicked  enough  to  say  that  they  heard 
Mr.  Spurgeon  make  the  statement ! 

The  Essex  Standard,  April  i8,  1855  (see  Mr.  Spurgeon's  remarks  on  page  18), 
contained  a  long  letter,  signed  "  Iconoclast,"  describing  a  Sunday  evening  service  at 
Exeter  Hall.  The  writer  said  : — "  The  mighty  gathering  and  the  'religious  puror' 
made  me  think  of  Demosthenes  haranguing  the  Athenians,  Cicero  before  the  Roman 
senate,  Peter  the  Hermit  preaching  the  Crusade,  Wesley  on  his  father's  tomb  at 
Epworth,  and  Whitefield  stirring  the  breasts  of  the  thousands  in  Hyde  Park  ;  and 
therefore  I  scanned  somewhat  curiously  both  '  orator '  and  auditors.  A  young  man, 
in  his  2  1st  year,  but  looking  much  older,  short  in  stature  and  thick  set,  with  a  broad 
massive  face,  a  low  forehead,  an  expressionless  eye,  a  wide  and  sensual  mouth,  a 
voice  strong  but  not  musical, — suggestive  of  Stentor  rather  than  Nestor, — the  very 
reverse  of  a  beau  ideal  of  an  orator  :  without  the  eye  of  fire,  where  was  the  heart  of 
flame?  Orpheus  without  his  lyre  {flute,  Mr.  Spurgeon  says),  what  was  the  potent 
charm  that  was  to  change  the  '  swine  of  the  metropolis '  into  men,  and  convert 
sinners  into  saints  ?  We  must  wait  for  the  thoughts  that  breathe,  and  the  words  that 
burn.  The  hymn  was  sung  right  lustily,  and  the  preacher  proceeded  to  read  and 
expound  the  3rd  of  Philippians.  ...  It  was  evident  that  exposition  was  not  his 
forte.  Then  followed  what  his  audience  called  prayer.  It  was  an  apostrophe  to  the 
Invisible,  containing  certain  petitions  first  for  himself  then  tor  the  elect  saints,  and 
then  for  the  outer-court  worshippers.  It  was  such  an  utterance  as  indicated  low 
views  of  Deity,  and  exalted  views  of  self  Indeed,  self  is  never  out  of  sight, 
and   is    presented    to   the    listener    as    a    '  little    child  ',    a    '  babbler ',    a    '  baby ',    a 


48 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


'battering  ram',  'little  David,'  'this  despised  young  man,'  'this  ranting  fellow,' 
and  '  an  empty  ram's  horn.'  If  reverence  is  the  greatest  mark  of  respect  to 
an  earthly  parent,  how  much  more  is  it  due  to  the  Supreme  Father  of  all  !  .  .  . 
When  the  painful  effect  of  this  most  arrogant  dictation  to  Deity  allowed  me 
to  think,  I  could  not  but  rejoice  in  that  '  form  of  sound  words '  by  which  the 
devotions  of  the  Church  are  sustained   from    Sabbath    to   Sabbath,    and   by   which, 


THE   SLOW   COACH. 


also,  such  outrageous  violations  of  decorum  are  rendered  impossible.  The  discourse 
was  from  Philippians  iii.  lo:  'That  I  may  knozv  liiiii.'  The  various  objects  ot 
human  pursuit  being  designated  and  discussed,  we  had  put  before  us  the  object, 
nature,  and  effects  of  Paul's  knowledge.  .  .  .  Speaking  of  his  study,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
said  it  was  his  'dukedom',  where  he  could  talk  to  Milton  and  Locke  as  slaves,  and 
say,   'Come  down  here.'      Mr.   Spurgeon  loves  controversy,   but   with    the   modesty 


H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRArUV. 


49 


peculiar  to  himself  told  us  that,  nowadays,  'he  found  no  foeman  worthy  oUiis  steel.' 
His  favourite  action  is  that  of  washing  his  hands,  and  then  rubbing  them  dry.  He 
belongs  to  the  peripatetic,  or  Walker  school,  perpetually  walking  up  and  down  as  an 
actor  treading  the  boards  of  a  theatre.  His  style  is  that  of  the  vulgar  colloquial, 
varied  by  rant.  ...  All  the  most  solemn  mysteries  of  our  holy  religion  are  by  him 
rudely,  roughly,  and  impiously  handled.      Mystery  is  vulgarised,   sanctity  profaned, 


THE    FAST   TRAI.\. 


common  sense  outraged,  and  decency  disgusted.  ...  His  rantings  are  interspersed 
with  coarse  anecdotes  that  split  the  ears  of  the  groundlings  ;  and  this  is  popularity  ! 
and  this  is  the  'religious  furor'  of  London  !  and  this  young  divine  it  is  that  throws 
Wesley  and  Whitefield  in  the  shade  !  and  this  is  the  preaching,  and  this  the 
theology,  that  five  thousand  persons  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  hear,  receive,  and 
approve,  and — profit  by  it  !  " 

D 


50  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

The  next  issue  of  The  Essex  Standard  contained  another  communication  in  a 
similar  strain  : — 

"  Mr.  Editor, — The  letter  of  '  Iconoclast  '  in  your  Wednesday's  impression  is 
a  faithful  delineation  of  the  young  preacher  who  is  making  so  great  a  stir  just  now. 
Had  we  seen  it  previously,  we  should  have  been  kept  from  taking  the  trouble  to  go 
to  Earl's  Colne  yesterday,  to  hear  what  extremely  disgusted  us, — a  young  man  of 
2 1  years  assuming  airs,  and  adopting  a  language,  which  would  be  scarcely  tolerated 
in  the  man  of  grey  hairs.  In  common  with  many  others,  though  obliged  to  smile 
during  his  performances,  we  felt  more  inclined  to  weep  over  such  a  prostitution  of 
the  pulpit  and  hours  devoted  to  professedly  religious  worship.  His  prayer,  to  us, 
appeared  most  profanely  familiar  ;  and  never  were  we  impressed  more  with  the 
contrast  between  this  effusion  and  the  beautifully-simple,  reverential,  and  devout 
language  of  the  Church  of  England  Liturgy,  and  said,  within  our  hearts,  'Would 
that  Dissenters  would  bind  down  their  ministers  to  use  those  forms  of  sound  words, 
rather  than  allow  of  these  rhapsodies,  which,  to  all  persons  of  taste  and  true 
devotion,  must  have  been  very  offensive  !  '  It  is  a  matter  of  deep  regret  to  many 
that  one  of  the  best  Dissenting  chapels  in  London  should  be  occupied  by  a  youth  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  caste  and  doctrinal  sentiments  ;  and  they  very  properly  shrink  from 
recognizing  him  among  the  regular  ministers  of  the  Baptist  denomination  ;  and  we 
heard  it  regretted  more  than  once  yesterday  that  he  should  have  been  chosen  to 
represent  a  Society  so  respectable  as  the  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society.  If 
gain  were  their  object,  they  certainly  obtained  it,  as  we  understand  the  collections 
were  large  ;  but  we  submit  no  such  motive  can  be  tolerated  at  the  cost  of  so  much 
propriety.  I  exceedingly  regret  to  write  thus  of  one  who,  until  I  heard  him  yester- 
day, I  thought  probably  was  raised  up  for  usefulness  ;  but  a  sense  of  duty  to  the 
public  leads  me  to  express  my  opinions  and  sentiments  in  this  plain,  unflinching- 
manner. 

"  I  am,  Mr.  Editor, 
"  Halstead,  "  Yours  respectfully, 

"April  1 8th,  1855."  "A  Lover  of  Propriety." 

The  following  week,  a  letter  of  quite  another  kind  was  published  in  the  same 
paper  : — 

"  Sir, — Your  readers  have  had  the  opinions  of  two  supporters  of  the  Established 
Church  on  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  ;  and  I  trust  to  your  well- 
known  fairness  to  allow  a  Dissenter  an  opportunity  of  expressing  the  sentiments  held 
by  many  who  have  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  the  fervid  words  of  that 
distinguished  minister  of  the  gospel. 

"  Mr.   Spurgeon  institutes  a  new  era,   or  more  correctly,  revives  the  good  old 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  5 1 

Style  of  Bunyan,  Wesley,  and  Whitefield, — men  whose  burning  eloquence  carried 
conviction  to  the  hearts  of  their  hearers, — men  who  cared  nought  for  the  applause 
of  their  fellow-mortals,  but  did  all  for  God's  glory.  In  the  steps  of  these  apostles 
does  Mr.  S.  follow,  and  who  could  desire  more  noble  leaders  ? 

"The  pulpit  is  now  too  much  abused  by  the  mere  display  of  intellect;  instead 
of  the  indignant  burst  of  a  Luther  against  the  iniquities  of  mankind,  we  have  only 
the  passive  disapprobation  of  the  silvery-tongued  man  of  letters.  The  preachers 
address  their  cold,  '  packed-in-ice  '  discourses  to  the  educated  portion  of  their 
audience  ;  and  the  majority,  the  uneducated  poor,  are  unable,  in  these  '  scientific  ' 
sermons,  to  learn  the  way  of  holiness,  from  the  simple  fact  that  they  are  above  their 
comprehension.  How  unlike  these  ministers — who  appear  to  consider  the  gospel  so 
frail  that  it  would  lose  its  power  if  delivered  with  unflinching  candour, — are  to  the 
holy  Saviour!  His  words  were  always  characterized  by  the  greatest  simplicity,  and 
by  a  thorough  detestation  of  those  '  blind  guides  who  strain  at  a  gnat,  and  swallow 
a  camel.' 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  goes  to  the  root  of  the  evil  ;  his  discourses  are  such  as  a  child 
can  understand,  and  yet  filled  with  the  most  elevating  philosophy  and  sound 
religious  instruction.  Taking  the  Word  as  his  only  guide,  and  casting  aside  the 
writings — however  antiquated — of  fallible  men,  he  appeals  to  the  heart,  not  to  the 
head  ;  puts  the  living  truth  forcibly  before  the  mind,  gains  the  attention,  and  then, 
as  he  himself  says,  fastens  in  the  bow  the  messenger  shaft,  which,  by  the  blessino- 
and  direction  of  the  Almighty,  strikes  home  to  the  heart  of  the  sinner. 

"  He  holds  that  irreligion  is  to  be  fought  against,  not  to  be  handled  with 
'fingers  of  down,'  and  hence  E.xeter  Hall  is  crammed.  It  is  objected  that  these  are 
the  lowest  of  the  London  poor.  What  of  that  ?  They,  above  all,  need  religious 
training.  I  suppose  there  are  few  advocates  in  this  country  for  the  opinion  that  the 
aristocracy  of  the  land  alone  have  souls  ;  Jehovah  has  breathed  His  spirit  into  the 
democracy,  and  Mr.  S.  is  the  man  for  them.  In  my  humble  opinion,  if  there 
were  more  C.  H.  Spurgeons,  there  would  be  fewer  Sabbath  desecrationists,  fewer 
tendencies  to  the  idol-worship  of  Rome,  and  fewer  disciples  of  Holyoake  and  Paine. 

"  In  conclusion,  let  me  suggest  that,  even  if  Mr.  Spurgeon  were  guilty  of  all 
laid  to  his  charge,  would  it  not  be  better  for  Christians  to  gloss  over  the  failings  of  a 
brother-worker  (for  no  one  doubts  the  sincerity  of  the  young  man's  efforts),  than  to 
seek  here  and  there  for  the  dross  amongst  the  pure  metal, — making  mountains  out 
of  molehills,  and  wantonly  refusing  the  golden  ears  because  mixed  with  the 
necessary  chaff? 

"  I   am.  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Vo.X    POPULI." 


52 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


To  the  Editor  of  The  Chelinsford  Chronicle,  who  had  published  an   article  of  a 

more   friendly  character  than   those   in   other   East  Anglian   papers,    Mr.   Spurgeon 

wrote  : — 

"  75,  Dover  Road, 

"April  24th,  1855. 
"  My  Dear  Sir, 

"  1  am  usually  careless  of  the  notices  of  papers  concerning  myself, — 
referring  all  honour  to  my  Master,  and  believing  that  dishonourable  articles  are  but 
advertisements  for  me,  and  bring  more  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel.  But  you,  my 
dear  sir  (I  know  not  why),  have  been  pleased  to  speak  so  favourably  of  my  labours 
that  I  think  it  only  right  that  I  should  thank  you.  If  I  could  have  done  so 
personally,  I  would  have  availed  myself  of  the  pleasure,  but  the  best  substitute  is 
by  letter.  Amid  a  constant  din  of  abuse,  it  is  pleasant  to  poor  flesh  and  blood  to 
hear  one  favourable  voice.  I  am  far  from  deserving  much  that  you  have  said  in  my 
praise,  but  as  I  am  equally  undeserving  of  the  coarse  censure  poured  on  me  by  The 
Essex  Standard,  &c.,  &c.,  I  will  set  the  one  against  the  other.  I  am  neither 
eloquent  nor  learned,  but  the  Head  of  the  Church  has  given  me  sympathy  with  the 
masses,  love  to  the  poor,  and  the  means  of  winning  the  attention  of  the  ignorant  and 
unenlightened.  I  never  sought  popularity,  and  I  cannot  tell  how  it  is  so  many 
come  to  hear  me;  but  shall  I  now  change?  To  please  the  polite  critic,  shall  I 
leave  '  the  people ',  who  so  much  require  a  simple  and  stirring  style  ?  I  am,  perhaps, 
'vulvar',  and  so  on,  but  it  is  not  intentional,  save  that  I  nrnst  and  zui//  make  the 
people  listen.  My  firm  conviction  is,  that  we  have  quite  enough  polite  preachers, 
and  that  '  the  many  '  require  a  change.  God  has  owned  me  to  the  most  degraded 
and  off-cast ;  let  others  serve  their  class  :  these  are  mine,  and  to  them  I  must  keep. 
My  sole  reason  for  thus  troubling  you  is  one  of  gratitude  to  a  disinterested  friend. 
You  may  another  time  have  good  cause  to  censure  me  ; — do  so,  as  I  am  sure  you 
will,  with  all  heartiness  ;  but  my  young  heart  shall  not  soon  forget  'a  friend.' 

"  Believe  me, 

"  My  dear  sir, 

"  Yours  very  sincerely, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon." 

The  Bucks  Chronicle.  April  28,  1855,  published  an  article  signed,  "A  Briton," 
of  which  the  following  portion  sufficiendy  indicates  the  character  of  the  whole  : — 

"The  Popular  Minister. 
C"  Fi-oni  our  London  corresp07ident.) 
"  Scarcity  produces  dearness  ;  rarity,  curiosity.      Great  preachers  are  as  scarce 
as  Queen  Anne's  farthings.      The  market  is  glutted  with  mediocrity  ; — a  star  is  looked 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  ■  53 

upon,  in  the  theological  world,  as  a  prize  equally  with  green  peas  in  Covent  Garden 
Market  at  Christmas.  We  have  been  inundated  with  the  slang  phrases  of  the 
profession  until  they  have  acquired  the  sameness  of  our  milkman's  cry,  when  he 
places  his  pails  upon  the  ground,  and,  as  he  gives  the  bell-handle  a  spasmodic 
twitch,   utters  his  well-known  '  M-i-l-k.' 

"We  had  thought  the  day  for  dogmatic,  theologic  dramatising,  was  past, — that 
we  should  never  more  see  the  massive  congregation  listening  to  outrageous  mani- 
festations of  insanity, — no  more  hear  the  fanatical  effervescence  of  ginger-pop 
sermonising,  or  be  called  upon  to  wipe  away  the  froth,  that  the  people  might  see  the 
colour  of  the  stuff.  In  this  we  were  mistaken.  A  star  has  appeared  in  the  misty 
plain  of  orthodoxy  ;  and  such  a  star  that,  were  it  not  for  the  badge  which  encircles 
that  part  of  it  called  neck,  we  should,  for  the  more  distinguishing  characteristic,  write 
comet.  It  has  made  its  appearance  in  Exeter  Hall  ;  and  is  to  be  seen  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  by  putting  a  few  '  browns  '  into  a  basket.  The  star  is  a  Spurgeon, 
— not  a  carp,  but  much  resembling  a  pike.  Thousands  flock  weekly  to  see  it  ;  and 
it  shines  grandiloquently.  It  is  a  parson. — a  young  parson.  Merciful  goodness  ! 
such  a  parson  seldom  talks.  It  is  a  railway  speed  of  joining  sentences,  conflaber- 
gasticated  into  a  discourse.  It  is  now  near  eleven  o'clock  a.m.  He  rises  to  read  ; 
and,  as  if  the  Book  of  Inspiration  was  not  fine  enough  in  its  composition,  enters  into 
explanations  of  his  own  as  apt  as  a  coal-heaver  would  give  of  Thucidydes  (sic). 
Never  mind  !  the  great  gun  of  starology  in  theology  has  a  mission.  Not  to  convert 
the  doggerelisms  of  Timbuctoo  into  rationalisms, — not  to  demonstrate  the  loving- 
kindness  of  the  great  Fatherhood, — not  to  teach  the  forgiveness  of  Jehovah  Jirah  {sw) 
in  His  great  heart  of  mercy, — not  to  proclaim  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
Master  of  assemblies.  No  !  but  to  teach  that,  if  Jack  Scroggins  was  put  down  In 
the  black  book,  before  the  great  curtain  of  events  was  unfolded,  that  the  said  Jack 
Scroggins,  in  spite  of  all  he  may  do  or  say,  will  and  must  tumble  into  the  limbo  of 
a  brimstone  hell,  to  be  punished  and  roasted,  without  any  prospect  of  cessation, 
or  shrinking  into  a  dried  cinder ;  because  Jack  Scroggins  had  done  what  Jack 
Scroggins  could  not  help  doing.  ...  It  is  not  pleasant  to  be  frightened  into  the 
portal  of  bliss  by  the  hissing  bubbles  of  the  seething  cauldron.  It  is  not  Christian- 
like to  say,  'God  must  wash  brains  in  the  Hyper-Calvinism  a  Spurgeon  teaches 
before  man  can  enter  Heaven.'  It  does  not  harmonize  with  the  quiet  majesty  of  the 
Nazarene.  It  does  not  fall  like  manna  for  hungry  souls  ;  but  is  like  the  gush  of  the 
pouring  rain  in  a  thunderstorm,  which  makes  the  flowers  to  hang  their  heads, 
looking  up  afterwards  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  When  the  Exeter  Hall  stripling- 
talks  of  Deity,  let  him  remember  that  He  is  superior  to  profanity,  and  that  blasphemy 
trom  a  parson  is  as  great  a  crime  as  when  the  lowest  grade  of  humanity  utters  the 
brutal  oath  at  which  the  virtuous  stand  aghast." 


54 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


In  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  discourses  delivered  in  the  year  1855,  there  is  the 
followino-  remarls.able  paragraph,  which  shows  that  the  foregoing  article  entirely  mis- 
represented the  usual  style  of  his  preaching  ;  careful  readers  will  note  that  he 
protested  against  some  of  the  very  expressions  that  he  was  charged  with  uttering  : — 

"  Enthusiastic  divines  have  thought  that  men  were  to  be  brought  to  virtue  by 
the  hissings  of  the  boiling  cauldron  ;  they  have  imagined  that,  by  beating  a  hell- 
drum  in  the  ears  of  men,  they  should  make  them  believe  the  gospel  ;  that,  by  the 
terrific  sights  and  sounds  of  Sinai's  mountain,  they  should  drive  men  to  Calvary. 
They  have  preached  perpetually,  '  Do  this,  and  thou  art  damned.'  In  their 
preaching,  there  preponderates  a  voice  horrible  and  terrifying  ;  if  you  listened  to 
them,  you  might  think  you  sat  near  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  and  heard  the  '  dismal 
groans  and  sullen  moans,'  and  all  the  shrieks  of  the  tortured  ones  in  perdition. 
Men  think  that  by  these  means  sinners  will  be  brought  to  the  Saviour.  They, 
however,  in  my  opinion,  think  wrongly  :  men  are  frightened  into  hell,  but  not  into 
Heaven.  Men  are  sometimes  driven  to  Sinai  by  powerful  preaching.  Far  be  it 
from  us  to  condemn  the  use  of  the  law,  for  '  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring 
us  unto  Christ  ; '  but  if  you  want  to  get  a  man  to  Christ,  the  best  way  is  to  bring 
Christ  to  the  man.  It  is  not  by  preaching  law  and  terrors  that  men  are  made  to 
love  God. 

"  '  Law  and  terrors  do  but  harden, 
All  the  while  they  work  alone  ; 
But  a  sense  of  blood-bought  pardon, 
Soon  dissolves  a  heart  of  stone.' 

"  I  sometimes  preach  'the  terror  of  the  Lord,'  as  Paul  did  when  he  said,  '  Knowing 
therefore  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men  ; '  but  I  do  it  as  did  the  apostle, 
to  bring  them  to  a  sense  of  their  sins.  The  way  to  bring  men  to  Jesus,  to  give 
them  peace,  to  give  them  joy,  to  give  them  salvation  through  Christ,  is,  by  God  the 
Spirit's  assistance,  to  preach  Christ, — to  preach  a  full,  free,  perfect  pardon.  Oh, 
how  litde  there  is  of  preaching  Jesus  Christ  !  We  do  not  preach  enough  about  His 
glorious  Name.  Some  preach  dry  doctrines  ;  but  there  is  not  the  unction  of  the 
Holy  One  revealing  the  fulness  and  preciousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  There  is 
plenty  of  '  Do  this,  and  live,'  but  not  enough  of  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved.'" 

The  Sheffield  and  Rotherham  Indcpenetcnt,  April  28,  1855,  to  which  Mr.  Spurgeon 
alludes  on  page  19,  had  an  article  somewhat  similar  to  the  one  in  the  Buckingham- 
shire paper  of  the  same  date  : — 

"  Just  now,  the  great  lion,  star,  meteor,  or  whatever  else  he  may  be  called,  of 
the    Baptists,    is   the    Rev.    M.    {sic)    Spurgeon,    minister    of    Park    Street   Chapel, 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  55 

Southwark.  He  has  created  a  perfect ///n?;-  in  the  reHgious  world.  Every  Sunday, 
crowds  throng  to  E.xeter  Hall — where  for  some  weeks  past  he  has  been  preaching 
during  the  enlargement  of  his  own  chapel, — as  to  some  great  dramatic  entertainment. 
The  huge  hall  is  crowded  to  overflowing,  morning  and  evening,  with  an  e.xcited 
auditory,  whose  good  fortune  in  obtaining  admission  is  often  envied  by  the  hundreds 
outside  who  throng  the  closed  doors.  For  a  parallel  to  such  popularity,  we  must  go 
back  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  Edward  Irving,  or  the  earlier  days  of  James  Parsons.  But 
I  will  not  dishonour  such  men  by  comparison  with  the  Exeter  Hall  religious 
demagogue.*  They  preached  the  gospel  with  all  the  fervour  of  earnest  natures. 
Mr.  Spurgeon  preaches  liinisclf.  He  is  nothing  unless  he  is  an  actor, — unless 
exhibiting  that  matchless  impudence  which  is  his  great  characteristic,  indulging  in 
coarse  familiarity  with  holy  things,  declaiming  in  a  ranting  and  colloquial  style, 
strutting  up  and  down  the  platform  as  though  he  were  at  the  Surrey  Theatre,  and 
boasting  of  his  own  intimacy  with  Heaven  with  nauseating  frequency.  His  fluency, 
self-possession,  oratorical  tricks,  and  daring  utterances,  seem  to  fascinate  his  less- 
thoughtful  hearers,  who  love  e.xcitement  more  than  devotion.  ...  I  have  glanced 
at  one  or  two  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  published  sermons,  and  turned  away  in  disgust  from 
the  coarse  sentiments,  the  scholastical  expressions,  and  clap-trap  style  I  have 
discovered  It  would  seem  that  the  poor  young  man's  brain  is  turned  by  the 
notoriety  he  has  acquired  and  the  incense  offered  at  his  shrine.  From  the  very 
pulpit  he  boasts  of  the  crowds  that  flock  to  listen  to  his  rodomontade.  Only  lately, 
he  told  his  fair  friends  to  send  him  no  more  slippers,  as  he  was  already  engaged  ; 
and  on  another  occasion  gloried  in  the  belief  that,  by  the  end  of  the  year,  not  less 
than  200,000  of  his  published  trashy  sermons  would  be  scattered  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  This  is  but  a  mild  picture  of  the  great  religious  lion  of  the 
metropolis.  To  their  credit  be  it  spoken,  Mr.  Spurgeon  receives  no  countenance  or 
encouragement  from  the  ornaments  ot  his  denomination.  I  don't  think  he  has  been 
invited  to  take  part  in  any  of  their  meetings.  Nor,  indeed,  does  he  seek  such 
fellowship.  He  glories  in  his  position  of  lofty  isolation,  and  is  intoxicated  by  the 
draughts  of  popularity  that  have  fired  his  feverish  brain.  He  is  a  nine  days' 
wonder, — a  comet  that  has  suddenly  shot  across  the  religious  atmosphere.  He  has 
gone  up  like  a  rocket,  and  ere  long  will  come  down  like  a  stick.  The  most 
melancholy  consideration  in  the  case  is  the  diseased  craving  for  excitement  which 
this  running  after  Mr.  Spurgeon  by  the  '  religious  world '  indicates.  I  would 
charitably  conclude  that  the  greater  part  of  the  multitude  that  weekly  crowd  to  his 
theatrical  exhibitions  consists  of  people  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  frequenting  a 
place  of  worship." 

"  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  paper  which,  in   1855,  thus  described  Mr.  Spurgeon,  in  1S9S,   in  reviewing  Vol.  I.  of  his 
Autobiography,  spoke  of  him  as  "  this  noble  Puritan  preacher  and  saintly  Christian." 


56  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

What  higher  compliment  than  this  could  the  slanderer  have  paid  the  dear  young 
preacher !  Mr.  Spurgeon's  own  testimony,  concerning  many  of  his  first  London 
hearers,  was  that  they  had  not  been  accustomed  to  attend  any  house  of  prayer  until 
they  came  to  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  Exeter  Hall,  or  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music 
Hall.  Best  of  all,  many  of  them  became  truly  converted,  and  so  helped  to  build  up 
the  great  church  which  afterwards  worshipped  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle.  In 
one  of  his  earliest  sermons  at  the  Music  Hall,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — 

"  I  have  many  a  time  had  doubts  and  fears,  as  most  of  you  have  had  ;  and  where 
is  the  strong  believer  who  has  not  sometimes  wavered  ?  I  have  said,  within  myself, 
'  Is  this  religion  true,  which,  day  after  day,  I  incessantly  preach  to  the  people  ?  Is  it 
correct  that  this  gospel  has  an  influence  upon  mankind  ? '  And  I  will  tell  you  how  I 
have  reassured  myself  I  have  looked  upon  the  hundreds,  nay,  upon  the  thousands 
whom  I  have  around  me,  who  were  once  the  vilest  of  the  vile, — drunkards,  swearers, 
and  such  like, — and  1  now  see  them  '  clothed,  and  in  their  right  mind,'  walking  in 
holiness  and  in  the  fear  of  God  ;  and  I  have  said  within  myself  '  This  must  be  the 
truth,  then,  because  I  see  its  marvellous  effects.  It  is  true,  because  it  is  efficient  for 
purposes  which  error  never  could  accomplish.  It  e.xerts  an  influence  among  the 
lowest  order  of  mortals,  and  over  the  most  abominable  of  our  race.'  ...  I  cuuld 
a  tale  unfold,  of  some  who  have  plunged  head-first  into  the  blackest  gulis  of  sin  ; 
it  would  horrify  both  you  and  me,  if  we  could  allow  them  to  recount  their  guilt.  I 
could  tell  you  how  they  have  come  into  God's  house  with  their  teeth  set  against  the 
minister,  determined  that,  say  what  he  would,  they  might  listen,  but  it  would  be  only 
to  scoff.  They  stayed  a  moment  ;  some  word  arrested  their  attention  ;  they  thought 
within  themselves,  'We  will  hear  that  sentence.'  It  was  some  pointed,  terse  saying, 
that  entered  into  their  souls.  They  knew  not  how  it  was,  but  they  were  spell-bound, 
and  stood  to  listen  a  little  longer  ;  and,  by-and-by,  unconsciously  to  themselves,  the 
tears  began  to  fall,  and  when  they  went  away,  they  had  a  strange,  mysterious  feeling 
about  them  that  led  them  to  their  chambers.  Down  they  fell  on  their  knees  ;  the 
story  of  their  life  was  all  told  before  God  ;  He  gave  them  peace  through  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  and  they  came  again  to  His  house,  many  of  them,  to  say,  '  Come,  all 
ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  and  hear  what  He  hath  done  for  our  souls.'  " 

The  Lambeth  Gazette  was  a  paper  published  so  near  to  the  scene  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  ministry  that  it  would  have  been  easy  for  the  Editor  to  ascertain 
facts  concerning  his  life  and  work  ;  yet  its  issue  for  September  i,  1855,  contained 
an  article  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract  : — 

"  The  fact  cannot  be  concealed,  mountebankism  is,  to  a  certain  class  of  minds, 
quite  as  attractive  in  the  pulpit  as  in  the  fields  of  a  country  town.  The  Rev. 
C.   H.   Spurgeon  is  now  the  star  of  Southwark.      Mr.  Wells  (commonly  known  by 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  57 

the  curious  sobriquet  of  '  Wheelbarrow  Wells '),  of  the  Borough  Road,  has,  for 
some  years  past,  had  the  run  in  this  line  ;  but  he  has,  at  last,  got  a  rival  well  up  in 
his  '  tip ',  and  likely  to  prove  the  favourite  for  a  long  time.  He  is  a  very  young  man, 
too,  and  the  young  'sisters'  are  dancing  mad  after  him.  He  has  received  slippers 
enough  from  these  lowly-minded  damsels  to  open  a  shoe  shop  ;  and  were  it  not  that 
he  recendy  advertised  them  that  he  was  '  engaged ',  he  would  very  soon  have  been 
able  to  open  a  fancy  bazaar  with  the  nicknacks  that  were  pouring  in  upon  him.  No 
doubt  he  is  a  very  good  young  man,  with  the  best  of  intentions  ;  but  will  not  this 
man-worship  spoil  him  ?  Between  the  parts  of  the  service,  his  mannerism  in  the 
pulpit  is  suggestive  of  affectation  and  vanity  ; — it  might  be  only  an  overpowering- 
sense  of  responsibility  ;  yet  it  would  do  for  either  state  of  feeling.  Who  can  wonder 
at  it  .^  .   .   . 

"  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  writer  has  any  wish  to  cripple  the  useful- 
ness of  the  young  minister.  On  the  contrary,  he  would  be  happy  to  hear  of  '  much 
good  being  done.'  What  he  laments  over  is  the  spiritual  poverty  and  want  of 
taste  indicated  by  the  crowds  who  are  so  eager  to  feed  upon  the  very  '  husks  '  of  a 
discarded  style  of  preaching.  Doubdess,  the  young  minister  will  be  the  means  of 
breaking  up  much  fallow  ground, — would  that  it  were  then  passed  over  to  a  more 
skilful  husbandman  ! — but  it  is  painful  to  hear  of  old  Christians  turning  again  to  such 
'beggarly  elements',  instead  of  allowing  themselves  to  be  'built  up  and  established 
in  the  faith.'  May  prosperity  attend  you,  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;  but  try,  do  try,  to  instruct 
as  well  as  amuse  your  congregation.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  the  ripple  that  passes 
over  the  face  of  the  waters  ;  but  stir  them,  if  you  can,  to  their  lowest  depths." 

The  Bristol  Advertiser,  April  12,  1856,  thus  introduced  its  report  of  a  sermon 
by  Mr.  Spurgeon  in  that  city  : — 

"  It  is  very  easy  for  public  opinion  to  mistake  the  signs  of  greatness  ;  and  for 
individuals  to  mistake  the  signs  of  public  opinion.  For  a  time,  weakness  may 
command  notoriety, — ^it  never  can  hold  fame.  We  are  not  among  those,  therefore, 
who  accept  the  hasty  verdicts  of  the  crowd.  We  have  often  seen  that  audacity, 
eccentricity,  or  even  stolidity  itself  can  secure  the  homage  which  is  always  paid  to 
genius  ;  but  rash  and  ignorant  devotees  discover  their  mistake  very  soon  ;  and, 
though  their  quondam  hero  continue  to  make  a  noise,  they,  from  sheer  indifference, 
cease  to  notice  him.  Indeed,  there  are  quackeries  in  public  as  well  as  in  professional 
Hfe  ;  Dr.  Holloways  among  the  vendors  of  religious  doctrine  as  well  as  among  the 
vendors  of  patent  medicines.  They  work  wonderful  cures.  They  get  advertised 
everywhere.  They  have  agents  all  about  the  country,  ready  and  willing  to  assist 
them  in  pushing  the  trade.  And,  unfortunately,  there  is  a  world  of  superstitious, 
curious,   and  idle   people  who  provide  a  profitable   market  for  the  spurious  article. 


5^  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

But  quacks  are  always  short-lived  ;  and  though  a  Morrison  may  find  a  successor,  he 
himself  quickly  gets  bowed  out  of  society. 

"  Now,  what  is  there  in  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  account  for  the  extraordinary  sensation 
he  makes  everywhere  ?  It  is  not  the  doctrine  he  preaches  ;  for  that  is  'orthodox'  ; 
that  is,  it  is  preached  by  a  thousand  other  clergymen.  It  is  not  his  personal 
appearance,  for  that  is  but  ordinary  :  his  forehead  is  low  ;  his  eye  is  small,  and 
though  capable  of  vivid  flashes  of  self-appreciation,  not  radiant  with  those  '  heavenly  ' 
rays  by  which  sentimental  ladies  are  usually  fascinated  ;  his  figure  is  broad  and 
stumpy  ;  his  manners  are  rude  and  awkward.  In  short,  we  can  find  no  genuine 
qualities  in  this  gentleman  sufficient  to  explain  the  unrivalled  notoriety  he  has 
acquired.  If  he  were  simple  in  his  pretensions,  and  had  the  serene  and  sacred 
dignity  of  religious  earnestness  to  support  him,  his  destitution  of  refinement,  his 
evident  ignorance,  his  positive  vulgarities  of  expression  and  of  manner  might  be 
forgiven.  We  should  feel  that  he  was  doing  good  in  an  important  direction,  and 
that  to  follow  him  with  criticism  or  contempt  would  be,  in  a  sort,  profane.  Or  if 
he  possessed  unusual  powers  of  mind,  imagination,  or  speech,  we  could  understand 
how  many  would  seek  to  hear  him.  But  his  intellect  not  only  lacks  culture,  it  is 
evidendy  of  meagre  grasp.  He  has  fancy,  but  all  his  larger  illustrations  failed, 
either  in  fitness  or  in  development.  He  is  fluent  ;  he  talks  on  without  stopping  ;  he 
has  certain  theatrical  attitudes  of  which  he  knows  how  to  make  the  most  ;  his  voice 
is  powerful  ;  and  his  enunciation  clear  ;  and  thus  many  of  the  mechanical  effects  of 
oratory  are  under  his  sway.  But  his  thoughts  are  commonplace,  and  his  figures 
false,  though  striking.  He  says  good  things  smartly  ;  but  his  best  things  are  his 
tritest,  and  his  most  striking  are  his  most  audacious  sentences.  .  .  .  Solemnly 
do  we  express  our  regret  that  insolence  so  unblushing,  intellect  so  feeble,  flippancy 
so  ostentatious,  and  manners  so  rude  should,  in  the  name  of  religion,  and  in 
connection  with  the  church,  receive  the  acknowledgment  of  even  a  momentary 
popularity.  To  our  minds,  it  speaks  sad  things  as  to  the  state  of  intelligence,  and 
calm,  respectful,  and  dignified  piety  among  a  mass  of  people  who  call  themselves  the 
disciples  of  Jesus.  Where  curiosity  is  stronger  than  faith,  and  astonishment  easier 
to  excite  than  reverence  to  edify,  religious  life  must  either  be  at  a  very  low  ebb,  or 
associated  with  some  other  deleterious  elements." 

The  Daily  News,  a  paper  from  which  something  better  might  have  been 
expected,  had,  in  its  issue  of  September  9,  1856,  a  long  article  on  "Popular 
Preachers, — The  Rev.  Mr.  Spurgeon,"  in  which  it  said  : — "  We  are  accustomed  to 
look  grave  when  the  old  mysteries  and  miracle-plays  are  mentioned.  ,We  pity  the 
ignorance  of  those  ancestors  of  ours  who  could  find  food  for  amusement  or  helps 
to  devotion  in  the  representation  of  doggerel  dramas,  where  God  the   Father,  our 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  59 

Saviour,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  devil,  Adam  and  Eve,  and,  in  short,  all  the  principal 
personages,  human  or  supernatural,  mentioned  in  Scripture,  were  brought  on  the 
stage.  We  are  liable  to  entertain  shrewd  doubts  as  to  the  piety  of  the  writers 
of  these  horrible  travesties  of  the  sacred  narratives,  and  to  lament  over  the  crassness 
of  the  intellect  of  those  who  could  find  entertainment  in  them.  We  can  see  nothing 
more  instructive  than  in  the  awful  contest  between  the  devil  and  the  baker,  which 
was  generally  the  concluding  scene  of  the  '  galantee  show  '  performances  with  which 
the  Christmas  of  our  childhood  was  enlivened.  In  Protestant  countries  in  general, 
and  in  England  in  particular,  we  shrink  from  undue  familiarity  with  holy  words  and 
things.  We  have  just  as  much  aversion  to  see  a  church  turned  into  a  theatre  as  to 
see  a  theatre  turned  into  a  church.  We  hold  an  opinion,  grounded  as  much  on 
the  principles  of  good  taste  as  of  religion,  that  it  is  almost  as  offensive  to  see  a 
clergyman  perform  in  his  pulpit  as  to  hear  actors  invoke  Heaven  in  a  theatre.  This 
opinion,  however,  is  not  quite  universally  entertained.  Let  any  person  who  wishes 
to  convince  himself  of  the  truth  of  this,  take  his  station  opposite  to  Exeter  Hall  on 
Sunday  evening  at  about  a  few  minutes  before  six  o'clock.  We  say  opposite, 
because,  unless  he  arrives  some  time  before  the  hour  mentioned,  there  will  be  no 
standing-room  on  the  pavement  from  which  the  entrance  to  the  hall  ascends. 
At  si.x,  the  doors  open,  and  a  dense  mass  of  human  beings  pours  in.  There  is  no 
interruption  now  to  the  continuous  stream  until  half-past  six  o'clock,  when  the  whole 
of  the  vast  hall,  with  its  galleries  and  platform,  will  be  filled  with  the  closely-packed 
crowd. 

"  If  the  spectator  has  not  taken  care  to  enter  before  this  time,  he  will  have 
but  small  chance  of  finding  even  standing-room.  Suppose  him  to  have  entered 
early  enough  to  have  found  a  seat,  he  will  naturally  look  around  him  to  scan  the 
features  of  the  scene.  They  are  remarkable  enough  to  excite  attention  in  the  minds 
of  the  most  listless.  Stretching  far  away  to  the  back  are  thousands  of  persons 
evidently  eager  for  the  appearance  of  someone.  Towering  up  the  platform,  the  seats 
are  all  crowded.  Nearly  all  the  eyes  in  this  multitude  are  directed  to  the  front  of 
the  platform.  The  breathless  suspense  is  only  broken  occasionally  by  the  struggle,  in 
the  body  of  the  hall,  of  those  who  are  endeavouring  to  gain  or  maintain  a  position. 
Suddenly,  even  this  noise  is  stopped.  A  short,  squarely-built  man,  with  piercing  eyes, 
with  thick  black  hair  parted  down  the  middle,  with  a  sallow  countenance  only 
redeemed  from  heaviness  by  the  restlessness  of  the  eyes,  advances  along  the  platform 
towards  the  seat  of  honour.  A  cataract  of  short  coughs,  indicative  of  the  relief 
afforded  to  the  ill-repressed  impatience  of  the  assembly,  announces  to  the  stranger 
that  the  business  of  the  evening  has  commenced.  He  will  be  told  with  a  certain 
degree  of  awe  by  those  whom  he  asks  for  information,  that  the  person  just  arrived  is 
the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon.     He  will  perhaps  hear,  in  addition  to  this,  that  Mr.  Spurgeon 


6o  c.    H.    spurgeon's    autobiography. 

is  beyond  all  question  the  most  popular  preacher  in  London  ;  that  he  is  obliged  to 
leave  off  preaching  in  the  evening  at  his  chapel  in  New  Park  Street,  Southwark,  on 
account  of  the  want  of  room  to  accommodate  more  than  a  mere  fraction  of  the  thou- 
sands who  flock  to  hear  him  ;  that  Exeter  Hall  has  been  taken  for  the  purpose  of 
diminishing  in  a  slight  degree  the  disappointment  experienced  ;  but  that  nothing  will 
be  done  to  afford  effectual  relief  until  the  new  chapel  which  is  in  contemplation  is 
built,  and  which  is  intended  to  hold  15,000  persons  "  (In  a  later  chapter,  it  will  be 
seen  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  corrected  this  inaccuracy  concerning  the  accommodation  to 
be  provided  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  ;  he  never  had  any  intention  of  building 
a  chapel  "  to  hold  i  5,000  persons.") 

The  article  concluded  thus: — "We  might  fill  columns  with  specimens  of  this 
pulpit  buffoonery,  but  we  have  given  enough  to  show  the  nature  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
preaching.  We  might  have  brought  forward  instances  of  his  utter  ignorance  of  any 
theology  except  that  current  among  the  sect  to  which  he  belongs ;  and  of  his 
ludicrous  misinterpretations  ot  Scripture,  occasioned  by  his  want  of  even  a  moderate 
acquaintance  with  Oriental  customs  and  forms  of  language.  ...  A  congregation 
that  constantly  listens  to  the  spiritual  dram-drinking  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  encourages, 
will  become  not  only  bigoted,  but  greedy  after  stronger  doses  ot  excitement.  What 
excited  them  once,  will  fall  flat  upon  their  palate.  The  preacher  will  be  obliged  to 
become  more  and  more  extravagant  as  his  audience  becomes  more  and  more 
exacting,  and  the  end  may  be  an  extensive  development  of  dangerous  fanaticism." 

The  Illustrated  Times,  October  11,  1856,  published  a  portrait — or  rather,  a 
caricature — of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  with  a  lengthy  article  containing  one  ot  the  many 
prophecies  that  subsequent  events  proved  to  be  false.     The  writer  said  : — 

'  Mr.  Spurgeon's  popularity  is  unprecedented  ;  at  all  events,  there  has  been 
nothing  like  it  since  the  days  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield.  Park  Street  Chapel  cannot 
hold  half  the  people  who  pant  to  hear  him,  and  even  Exeter  Hall  is  too  small. 
Indeed,  it  is  reported  on  good  authority  that  his  friends  mean  to  hire  the  Concert 
Room  at  the  Surrey  Gardens,  and  firmly  believe  that  he  will  fill  that.  Nor  is  his 
popularity  confined  to  London  ;  in  Scotland,  he  was  very  much  followed  ;  and,  lately, 
we  ourselves  saw,  on  a  week-day,  in  a  remote  agricultural  district,  long  lines  of 
people  all  converging  to  one  point,  and  on  enquiring  of  one  of  the  party  where  they 
were  going,  received  for  answer,  '  We're  a  go'in'  to  hear  Maester  Spiidgiii,  sir. 

1  "  WILL    HIS    POPULARITY    LAST  ? 

"We  more  than  doubt  it.  It  stands  on  no  firm  basis.  Thousands  who  go  now 
to  hear  him  only  go  through  curiosity.  Men  are  very  much  like  sheep  ;  one  goes 
through  a  hedge,  then  another,  and  another  ;  at  last  the  stream  gathers  cresctt  cundo, 
and  the  whole  flock  rushes  madly  forward.     This  has  been  a  good  deal  the  case  with 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  6i 

Mr.  Spurgeon's  congregation,  but  the  current  will  soon  turn  and  leave  him  ;  and  as 
to  those  who  have  gone  from  a  slightly  different,  if  not  better,  motive,  it  is  hardly 
likely  that  he  will  retain  them  long.  He  must  bid  high  if  he  does, — offering  them 
every  Sunday  a  stronger  dram  than  they  had  the  last." 


Postscript   by    Mrs.    C.    H.    Spurgeon. 

No  defence  of  my  beloved  is  needed  now.  God  has  taken  him  to  Himself  and 
"  there  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  ;  and  there  the  weary  be  at  rest."  The 
points  of  these  arrows  are  all  blunted, — the  stings  of  these  scorpions  are  all  plucked 
out, — the  edge  of  these  sharp  swords  is  rusted  away.  "And  where  is  the  fury  of 
the  oppressor  ?  " 

A  strange  serenity  has  brooded  over  my  spirit  as  these  chapters  have  recalled 
the  heartless  attacks  made  on  God's  servant ;  I  have  even  smiled  as  I  read  once 
again  the  unjust  and  cruel  words  written  by  his  enemies  ;  for  he  is  so  safe  now, 
"with  God  eternally  shut  in  ;"  and  I  can  bless  the  Lord  for  the  suffering  all  ended, 
and  the  eternity  of  bliss  begun.  "  For  Thou  hast  made  him  most  blessed  for  ever  : 
Thou  hast  made  him  exceeding  glad  with  Thy  countenance." 

But,  at  the  time  of  their  publication,  what  a  grievous  affliction  these  slanders 
were  to  me  !  My  heart  alternately  sorrowed  over  him,  and  flamed  with  indignation 
against  his  detractors.  For  a  long  time,  I  wondered  how  I  could  set  continual 
comfort  before  his  eyes,  till,  at  last,  I  hit  upon  the  expedient  of  having-  the 
following  verses  printed  in  large  Old  English  type,  and  enclosed  in  a  pretty  Oxford 
frame.  (This  was  before  the  days  of  the  illuminated  mottoes  which  at  present  are  so 
conspicuous  in  our  homes,  and  so  often  silently  speak  a  message  from  God  to  us.) 

"  Blfsscti  arc  vt,  tolirn  men  s\}M  rcbilr  oou,  anti 
prrsrcutr  gou,  anti  sljall  sac  all  manner  of  rbil 
against  gou  falsrb,  for  iHo  sakr.  Bcjotcc,  anti  be 
Eicfcbtng  glab  :  for  great  ts  gour  retoarb  in  Itjeaben : 
for  so  persrrutcb  theg  i\}c  propbets  biijicb  boere  before 
gOU." — Mattheiij  w  ii,  12. 

The  text  was  hung  up  in  our  own  room,  and  was  read  over  by  the  dear 
preacher  every  morning, — fulfilling  its  purpose  most  blessedly,  for  it  strengthened 
his  heart,  and  enabled  him  to  buckle  on  the  invisible  armour,  whereby  he  could 
calmly  walk  among  men,  unruffled  by  their  calumnies,  and  concerned  only  for  their 
best  and  highest  interests 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 


fixst  ittcrarg  jFritnbs. 


I  was  reading,  some  time  ago,  an  article  in  a  newspaper,  very  much  in  my  praise.  It  always 
makes  me  sad,— so  sad  that  I  could  cry,  if  ever  I  see  anything  praising  me;  it  breaks  my  heart,  I  feel  I 
ao  not  deserve  it ;  and  then  I  say,  "  Now  I  must  try  and  be  better,  so  that  I  may  deserve  it."  If  the 
world  abuses  me,  I  am  a  match  for  that ;  I  begin  to  like  it.  It  may  hre  all  its  big  guns  at  me,  I  will  not 
return  a  solitary  shot,  but  just  store  them  up,  and  grow  rich  upon  the  old  iron.  All  the  abuse  it  likes  to 
heap  upon  me,  I  can  stand  ;  but  when  a  man  praises  me,  I  feel  it  is  a  poor  thing  I  have  done,  and  that  he 
commends  what  does  not  deserve  commendation.  This  crushes  me  down,  and  I  say  to  myself,  "  I 
must  set  to  work  and  deserve  this  ;  I  must  preach  better,  I  must  be  more  earnest,  and  more  diligent 
in  my  Master's  service." — C  H.  S. 

^iLTHOUGH  many  assailed  Mr.  Spurgeon  through  the  press  in  the 
first  years  of  his  ministry  in  London,  there  were  always  loyal  and 
true  hearts  ready  to  come  to  his  help,  and  write  in  his  defence. 
This  chapter  and  the  next  contain  the  principal  favourable  articles 
published  during  1855  and  1856  ;  they  furnish  a  marked  contrast 
to  the  slanders  and  calumnies  which  the  young  preacher  had  to 
endure  at  that  time. 

One  of  the  earliest  encouraging  notices  appeared  appropriately  in  T//e  Friend, 
and  was  supplied  by  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.     The  writer  said  : — 

"  An  extraordinary  sensation  has  recently  been  produced  in  London  by  the 
preaching  of  a  young  Baptist  minister  named  C.  H.  Spurgeon.  The  crowds  which 
have  been  drawn  to  hear  him,  the  interest  excited  by  his  ministry,  and  the  conflicting 
opinions  expressed  in  reference  to  his  qualifications  and  useiulness,  have  been 
altogether  without  parallel  in  modern  times.  What  renders  the  present  case 
remarkable  is,  the  juvenility  of  the  preacher, — his  hold  on  the  public  being  estab- 
lished before  he  had  attained  his  twentieth  year  ;  and  his  first  appearance  in  London 
being  that  of  a  country  youth,  without  any  of  the  supposed  advantages  of  a  College 
education  or  ordinary  ministerial  training.  Early  in  1854,  he  undertook  the  charge 
of  the  congregation  assembling  in  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  Southwark.  It  was  a 
remarkable  sight  to  see  this  round-faced  country  youth  thus  placed  in  a  position  of 
such  solemn  and  arduous  responsibility,  yet  addressing  himself  to  the  fulfilment  ot  its 
onerous  duties  with  a  gravity,  self-possession,  and  vigour,  that  proved  him  well  fitted 
to  the  task  he  had  assumed.  In  a  few  weeks,  the  pews,  which  had  been  so  long 
tenantless,  were  crowded,  every  sitting  in  the  chapel  was  let,  and  ere  many  months 
had  elapsed,  the  eagerness  to  hear  him  had  become  so  great,  that  every  standing- 
place  within   the  chapel  walls  was  occupied  on  each   succeeding  Sabbath,  and   it 


64  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

became  evident  that  increased  accommodation  must  be  provided  for  the  wants  of  the 
congregation.  It  was  about  this  period,  in  the  autumn  oi  1854,  that  we  first  heard 
C.  H.  Spurgeon,  on  the  occasion  of  his  preaching  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  The  preliminary  portions  of  the  service  were  conducted  in  a  manner 
at  once  to  impress  the  hearer  with  a  sense  of  the  earnest  reverence  which  the  young 
Pastor  felt  in  his  work.  He  read  a  portion  of  Scripture,  accompanying  it  with  a  few 
forcible  and  pointed  remarks, — these  expository  efforts  being  of  peculiar  value  to  the 
class  of  hearers  ot  which  his  congregations  are  mostly  composed.  His  sermon  was 
a  deeply-impressive  one.  He  spoke  as  a  young  man  to  young  men, — sympathizing 
in  their  tastes,  their  trials,  their  temptations,  and  their  wants.  He  unfolded  the 
plan  of  salvation,  and  urged  the  importance  of  a  manly  and  decided  profession  of 
Christianity." 

One  of  the  first  and  one  of  the  ablest  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  champions  among 
literary  men  was  Mr.  James  Grant,  the  Editor  of  The  Morning  Advertiser,  which, 
under  his  management,  a  contemporary  writer  testifies,  was  raised  "  to  the  position 
of  a  first-class  morning  paper,  second  only  to  The  Times,  either  in  circulation  or 
influence."  In  its  columns,  on  February  19,  1855,  he  published  an  article,  the 
tenor  of  which  may  be  judged  by  the  following  extracts  : — 
"The  Rev.   Mr.  Spurgeon. 

"  A  young  man,  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  age,  has  just  appeared,  under  this 
name,  among  our  metropolitan  preachers,  and  is  creating  a  great  sensation  in  the 
religious  world.  He  had  only  been  a  few  weeks  settled  as  minister  of  Park 
-Street  Chapel,  Southwark,  before  that  commodious  place  was  filled  to  overflowing, 
while  hundreds  at  each  service  went  away  who  were  unable  to  effect  an  entrance. 
The  result  was,  that  it  was  agreed  to  enlarge  the  chapel,  and  that  the  youthful 
minister'should  preach  in  the  large  room  of  Exeter  Hall  for  eight  Sundays,  until  the 
re-opening  of  his  own  place  of  worship.  It  will  easily  be  believed  how  great  must 
be  the  popularity  of  this  almost  boyish  preacher,  when  we  mention  that,  yesterday, 
both  morning  and  evening,  the  large  hall,  capable  of  containing  from  4,000  to  5,000 
persons,  was  filled  in  every  part.  Mr.  Spurgeon  belongs  to  the  Baptist  denomination. 
.  .  .  He  is  short  in  stature,  and  somewhat  thickly  built,  which,  with  an 
exceedingly  broad,  massive  face,  gives  him  the  appearance  of  a  man  twenty-six  or 
twenty-seven  years  of  age  instead  of  twenty-one.  His  doctines  are  of  the  Hyper- 
Calvinist  school.  He  is  a  young  man,  we  are  told,  of  extensive  information,  especially 
on  theological  subjects,  and  of  a  highly  cultivated  mind.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  possesses  superior  talents,  while,  in  some  of  his  happier  flights,  he  rises  to  a 
high  order  of  pulpit  oratory.  It  is  in  pathos  that  he  excels,  though  he  does  not 
himself  seem  to  be  aware  of  the  fact.      But  for  some  sad  drawbacks  in  the  young 


C.      H.      SPUKGEON  S     AUTOBIOGI-L-VrilV. 


65 


divine,  we  should  anticipate  great  usefulness  from  him,  because  he  not  only  possesses 
qualities  peculiarly  adapted  to  attract  and  rivet  the  attention  of  the  masses,  but  he 
makes  faithful  and  powerful  appeals  to  the  consciences  of  the  unconverted.  In  the 
spirit  of  sincere  friendship,  we  would  advise  him  to  study  to  exhibit  an  aspect  of 
qreater  gravitv  and  seriousness.      Let  us  also  impress  upon  him   the  indispensable 


necessity  of  relinquishing-  those  theatrical — we  had  almost  said  melo-dramatic — 
attitudes  into  which  he  is  in  the  habit  of  throwing  himself  In  Exeter  Hall,  yesterday, 
instead  of  confining  himself  to  the  little  spot  converted  into  a  sort  of  pulpit  for  him, 
he  walked  about  on  the  platform  just  as  if  he  had  been  treading  the  boards  of  Drury 


66  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

Lane  Theatre,  while  performing  some  exciting  tragedy.  Altogether,  he  seems  to 
want  the  reverence  of  manner  which  is  essential  to  the  success  of  a  minister  ot  the 
gospel.*  We  hope,  however,  that  in  these  respects  he  will  improve.  It  is  with  that 
view  we  give  him  our  friendly  counsels.  He  is  quite  an  original  preacher,  and 
therefore  will  always  draw  large  congregations,  and,  consequently,  may  be  eminendy 
made  the  means  of  doing  great  good  to  classes  of  persons  who  might  never  otherwise 
be  brought  within  the  sound  of  a  faithfully-preached  gospel.  He  has  evidently  made 
George  Whitefield  his  model  ;  and,  like  that  unparalleled  preacher,  that  prince  of 
pulpit  orators,  is  very  fond  of  striking  apostrophes.  Like  him,  too,  he  has  a 
powerful  voice,  which  would,  at  times,  be  more  pleasing,  and  not  less  impressive, 
were  it  not  raisea  to  so  high  a  pitch." 

Mr.  Spurgeon's  own  testimony  confirms  Mr.  Grant's  assertion  that  he  had 
"  evidently  made  George  Whitefield  his  model."  He  wrote,  in  1879  : — "  There  is  no' 
end  to  the  interest  which  attaches  to  such  a  man  as  George  Whitefield.  Often 
as  I  have  read  his  life,  I  am  conscious  of  distinct  quickening  whenever  I  turn 
to  it.  He  lived.  Other  men  seem  to  be  only  half-alive  ;  but  Whitefield  was  all  life, 
fire,  wincr,  force.  My  own  model,  if  I  may  have  such  a  thing  in  due  subordination 
to  my  Lord,  is  George  Whitefield  ;  but  with  unequal  footsteps  must  I  follow  in  his 
glorious  track." 

Mr.  Grant's  article  was  reprinted  in  the  March  number  of  The  Baptist  Messenger, 
which  was  originated,  and,  until  his  death,  edited,  by  Rev.  Jonathan  Whittemore,  of 
Eynsford,  who  had,  in  the  autumn  of  1854,  availed  himself  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
literary  assistance,  and  so  commenced  a  connection  with  the  Magazine  which  has 
continued  to  the  present  day.  In  the  meantime,  the  correspondence  referred  to  m 
the  previous  chapter  was  being  published,  and  consequently  the  April  issue  of  the 
Messenger',  as  it  was  usually  termed,  contained  several  of  the  most  friendly  letters, 
too-ether  with  the  following  article  on  "  Mr.  Spurgeon  and  his  Detractors  "  : — 

"It  is  not  at  all  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  extraordinary  popularity  of  this 
estimable  young  minister  should  have  evoked  censure  and  commendation  of  all  kinds 
and  degrees.  The  pulpit  and  the  forum  alike  invite  attention,  and  challenge 
criticism  ;  and  so  long  as  this  test  is  legitimately  and  truthfully  applied,  no  public 
character,  if  right-hearted,  will  shrink  from  its  decisions.  But  if  the  criticism  be 
made  the  vehicle  of  calumny,  and  if  the  censors  of  the  press — instead  of  employing 


*  In  the  Atitobiographv,  Vol.  I.,  page  353,  a  quotation  is  given  from  the  reminiscences  of  Professor  Everett,  who  had  been 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  fellow-tutor  at  Newmarket.  Soon  after  the  young  Pastor's  settlement  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  he  invited  his 
former  colleague  to  pay  him  a  visit.  During  their  conversation,  Mr.  Everett  referred  to  this  supposed  irreverence  ;  and  recalling  the 
interview,  in  1892,  he  wrote  ;— "  I  re.-nember  suggesting  to  him,  in  this  connection,  that  a  man  ought  to  feel  and  sho\v  some  sense  of 
awe  in  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  and  his  reply  was  to  the  effect  that  awe  was  foreign  to  his  nature,— that  he  felt  perfectly  at  home 
with  his  Heavenly  Father." 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  67 

their  pens  in  commending  excellences,  or  in  censuring"  and  correcting  faults,  however 
severely,  if  fairly  done, — seek  by  detraction  and  falsehood  to  damage  the  reputation 
and  lessen  the  usefulness  of  those  whose  efforts  they  decry,  then  do  they  degrade  an 
otherwise  honourable  occupation  into  that  of  a  dirty  and  despicable  slanderer.  Several 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  critics,  we  regret  to  say,  have  thus  disgraced  themselves.  If  they 
have  not  originated,  they  have  given  a  wide  circulation  to  fabrications  as  grossly 
absurd  as  they  are  totally  false.  By  Mr.  S.,  however,  these  falsehoods  are  treated 
with  no  other  feelings  than  those  of  pity  for  the  individuals  from  whom  they 
emanated.  It  was  thus,  a  century  ago,  with  the  seraph-tongued  Whitefield,  to  whom, 
by  some  of  his  more  friendly  critics,  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  been  compared. 

"  We  have  been  induced  to  make  this  reference  to  those  attacks  upon 
Mr.  Spurgeon,  not  more  from  the  circumstance  that  we  are  favoured  monthly  with 
his  valuable  contributions  to  our  pages,  than  from  the  high  and  honourable  position 
in  which  it  has  pleased  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to  place  him,  in  which  it  should 
be  the  aim  of  all  who  love  Zion  to  uphold  and  encourage  this  youthful  and  gifted 
brother  ;  and  also  because  we  have  had  put  into  our  hands,  by  a  party  altogether 
disinterested,  the  following  correspondence,  a  portion  of  which  is  addressed  to  a 
provincial  paper,  which  had  been  made  the  medium  of  circulating  slanderous  reports 
concerning  Mr.  S.,  to  whom  it  is  but  fair  to  state,  the  Editor  of  the  paper  referred  to 
has  made  most  ample  and  satisfactory  apology." 

In  the  June  number  of  The  Baptist  Messenger,  the  Editor  wrote: — "Several 
articles  and  extracts  from  provincial  papers,  condemnatory  of  the  Rev.  C.  .H. 
Spurgeon,  have  been  forwarded  for  insertion  in  the  Messenger.  This,  however, 
we  must  decline  doing  It  is,  indeed,  most  pitiful  that  this  excellent  and  useful 
servant  of  Christ  cannot  go  about  his  Master's  business  quietly  and  unobtrusively — 
for  his  popularity  is  altogether  unsought  by  him, — without  exciting  unkind  and 
envious  remarks." 

In  the  quotation  from  Mr.  Spurgeon's  letter,  given  on  page  26,  there  is  an 
allusion  to  a  glowing  account  of  his  life  and  work  which  had  been  published  in  The 
Patriot,  on  September  21,  1855.  The  following  are  some  of  the  writer's  kind 
expressions  concerning  the  young  preacher  : — 

"Although  the  name  of  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  has  been  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  columns  of  this  Journal,  we  have  not  introduced  him  to  our 
readers  by  any  formal  description  of  his  preaching.  Such,  however,  is  its  effect, 
that  curiosity  cannot  but  have  been  awakened  by  intelligence  of  the  immense  crowds 
collected  to  hear  him  while  occupying  Exeter  Hall  from  Sunday  to  Sunday,  and  also 
when  he  returned  to  his  own  enlarged  chapel  in  New  Park  Street,  over  Southwark 
Bridge.     There  must  surely  be  something  extraordinary  in  a  mere  youth  who  could 


68  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

command  an  attendance  of  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  persons  in  the  open  field, 
and  who,  on  visiting  the  North,  though  received  with  cold  suspicion  at  first,  soon 
compelled  the  fixed  and  admiring  attention  of  the  reluctant  Scotch  ;  though,  he  says, 
'they  seemed  to  be  all  made  of  lumps  of  ice  fetched  from  Wenham  Lake.'  Those 
who  go  to  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon,  enquiring,  'What  will  this  babbler  say?'  are  not  long 
left  in  doubt  as  to  either  the  manner  or  the  matter  of  his  discourses.  .  .  .  We  have 
ourselves  heard  Mr.  Spurgeon  but  once  ;  and,  on  that  occasion,  not  having  succeeded 
in  gaining  an  entrance  to  the  chapel,  we  squeezed  ourselves  into  a  side  vestry,  from 
which  the  speaker  could  be  heard,  but  not  seen.  We  found  him  neither  extravagant 
nor  extraordinary.  His  voice  is  clear  and  musical  ;  his  language  is  plain  ;  his  style 
flowing,  yet  terse  ;  his  method  lucid  and  orderly  ;  his  matter  sound  and  suitable  ;  his 
tone  and  spirit  cordial  ;  his  remarks  always  pithy  and  pungent,  sometimes  familiar 
and  colloquial,  yet  never  light  or  coarse,  much  less  profane.  Judging  from  this 
single  sermon,  we  supposed  that  he  would  become  a  plain,  faithful,  forcible,  and 
affectionate  preacher  of  the  gospel  in  the  form  called  Calvinistic  ;  and  our  judgment 
was  the  more  favourable  because,  while  there  was  a  solidity  beyond  his  years,  we 
detected  little  of  the  wild  luxuriance  naturally  characteristic  of  very  young  preachers. 

"  Our  opinion  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  as  a  preacher  has  been  somewhat  modified  by  a 
perusal  of  his  published  discourses,  which,  issued  in  a  cheap  form,  appear  to  be 
bought  up  with  great  eagerness.  These  show  him  to  be  a  more  extraordinary  person 
than  we  supposed,  and  not  to  be  quite  so  far  from  extravagance  as  at  first  we  thought 
him.  But  it  is  more  for  the  sake  of  information  than  with  a  view  to  criticism 
that  we  refer  to  the  subject.  From  whatsoever  cause  it  springs,  whether  from 
force  of  native  character,  or  from  a  vigour  superinduced  upon  that  basis  by  the 
grace  of  God,  there  is  that  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  reported  sefmons  which  marks  him 
a  superior  man. 

"  Models  of  different  styles  of  preaching  are  so  numerous,  that  originality  must 
be  of  rare  occurrence  ;  but  he  appears  to  be  an  original  genius.  To  the  pith  of  Jay, 
and  the  plainness  of  Rowland  Hill,  he  adds  much  of  the  familiarity,  not  to  say  the 
coarseness,  of  the  Huntingtonian  order  of  ultra-Calvinistic  preachers.  '  It  has  been 
my  privilege,'  he  says,  '  to  give  more  prominence  in  the  religious  world  to  those  old 
doctrines  of  the  gospel.'  But  the  traits  referred  to  present  themselves  in  shapes  and 
with  accompaniments  which  forbid  the  notion  of  imitation,  and  favour  the  opinion  of 
a  peculiar  bent.  Neither  in  the  style  and  structure,  nor  in  handling,  is  there 
appearance  .of  art,  study,  or  elaboration.  Yet,  each  discourse  has  a  beginning,  a 
middle,  and  an  end  ;  and  the  subject  is  duly  introduced  and  stated,  divided  and 
discussed,  enforced  and  applied.  But  all  is  done  without  effort,  with  the  ease  and 
freedom  of  common  conversation,  and  with  the  artlessness,  but  also  with  the  force, 
of  spontaneous  expression. 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  69 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  waits  for  nothing  which  requires  what  we  understand  by 
composition,  and  he  rejects  nothing  by  which  attention  may  be  arrested,  interest 
sustained,  and  impression  made  permanent.  The  vehicle  of  his  thoughts  is  con- 
structed of  well-seasoned  Saxon  speech  ;  and  they  are  conveyed  to  the  hearer's  mind 
in  terms  highly  pictorial  and  often  vividly  dramatic.  Great  governing"  principles  are 
freely  personified  ;  and  religious  experience,  past,  present,  and  future,  aj^pears  in 
life-like  action  upon  the  scene.  Tried  by  such  tests  as  the  unities,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
might  sometimes  be  found  wanting  ;  but  it  is  enough  for  him  that,  as  face  answers 
to  face  in  the  glass,  so  do  his  words  elicit  a  response  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  hear 
him.  This  end  secured,  what  cares  he  for  a  mixed  metaphor  or  a  rhetorical  anach- 
ronism .'*  Were  it  his  aim  to  rival  the  Melvilles  and  Harrises  of  the  day,  he  lacks 
neither  the  talent  nor  the  taste  ;  and,  with  these,  he  has  the  faculty  of  gathering 
what  is  to  be  learned  from  men  or  from  books,  and  of  turning  all  to  account.  But 
his  single  aim  is  to  preach  the  gospel  ;  and  he  depends  for  success,  not  upon  the 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  upon  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and, 
with  a  view  to  that,  the  prayers  of  his  people. 

■'  Mr.  Spurgeon  evinces  much  aptitude  in  borrowing  illustrations,  not  only  from 
the  pages  of  antiquity,  and  from  modern  life  and  literature,  but  also  from  the  most 
familiar  incidents,  as  well  as  from  public  events.  Thus,  the  war  suggests  to  him  the 
idea  that  even  the  believer  '  carries  within  him  a  bomb-shell,  ready  to  burst  at  the 
slightest  spark  of  temptation.'  In  like  manner,  the  fatal  exposure  of  the  officers  to 
the  sharp-shooting  of  the  enemy,  furnishes  him  with  a  comparison  by  which  to 
illustrate  the  peculiar  liability  of  Christian  ministers  to  hostUe  attack,  though  with  a 
great  difterence  in  the  result.  '  Some  of  us,'  he  says,  '  are  the  officers  of  God's 
regiments  ;  and  we  are  the  mark  of  all  the  riflemen  of  the  enemy.  Standing 
forward,  we  have  to  bear  all  the  shots.  What  a  mercy  it  is,  that  not  one  of  God's 
officers  ever  falls  in  battle  !     God  always  keeps  them.' 

"  His  sermons  abound  with  aphoristic  and  pointed  sayings,  which  often  aftbrd  a 
striking  proof  ot  his  genius.  .  .  .  Many  instances  might  easily  be  given  of  a  force 
and  beauty  of  language  indicative  of  a  high  degree  of  eloquence.  '  Bright-eyed 
cheerfulness  and  airy-footed  love,'  are  fine  phrases.  Winter  is  described  as  not 
killing  the  flowers,  but  as  'coating  them  with  the  ermine  ot  its  snows.'  Again,  the 
sun  is  not  quenched,  but  is  behind  the  clouds,  '  brewing  up  summer  ;  and,  when  he 
cometh  forth  again,  he  will  have  made  those  clouds  fit  to  drop  in  April  showers,  all 
of  them  mothers  of  the  sweet  May  flowers.'  God  'puts  our  prayers,  like  rose-leaves, 
between  the  pages  of  His  book  of  remembrance  ;  and  when  the  volume  is  opened  at 
last,  there  shall  be  a  precious  fragrance  springing  up  therefrom.'  '  There  is  one 
thing,'  the  sinner  is  told,  'that  doth  outstrip  the  telegraph  :  "  Before  they  call,  I  will 
answer;  and  while  thev  are  yet  speaking,  I  will, hear."'     The  memory,  infected  by 


•JO  c.    H.   spurgeon's   autobiography. 

the  Fall,  is  described  as  '  suffering  the  glorious  timbers  from  the  forest  of  Lebanon 
to  swim  down  the  stream  of  oblivion  ;  but  she  stoppeth  all  the  draff  that  floateth 
from  the  foul  city  of  Sodom.'  With  quaintness,  yet  with  force  and  truth,  the  caste 
feelino-  of  society  is  hit  off:  'In  England,  a  sovereign  will  not  speak  to  a  shilling,  a 
shilling  will  not  notice  a  sixpence,  and  a  sixpence  will  sneer  at  a  penny.'  A  singular 
quaintness  and  vigour  may  be  remarked  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  diction  ;  as  when  he 
speaks  of  the  lightning  '  splitting  the  clouds,  and  rending  the  heavens  ; '  of  '  the 
mighty  hand  wherein  the  callow  comets  are  brooded  by  the  sun  ; '  and  of  '  the  very 
spheres  stopping  their  music  while  God  speaks  with  His  wondrous  bass  voice.' 

"  The  manly  tone  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  mind  might  be  illustrated  from  the 
admirable  thoughts  which  he  expresses  on  the  connection  between  the  diffusion  of 
the  gospel  and  the  increase  of  civil  liberty.  His  graphic  skill  in  delineating 
character  might  be  demonstrated  from  his  life-like  pictures  of  the  prejudiced  Jew 
and  the  scoffing  Greek  of  modern  times  ;  his  unsparing  fidelity,  from  the  sarcastic 
severity  with  which  he  rebukes  the  neglect  of  the  Bible  by  modern  professors  ;  his 
powers  of  personification  and  dramatic  presentation,  from  the  scene  which  he  paints 
between  the  dying  Christian  and  Death,  or  between  Jesus  and  Justice  and  the  justified 
sinner  ;  his  refined  skill  in  the  treatment  of  a  delicate  subject,  in  the  veiled  yet 
impressive  description  of  the  trial  of  Joseph  ;  the  use  that  he  can  make  of  a  single 
metaphor  by  his  powerful  comparison  of  the  sinner  to  '  Mazeppa  bound  on  the  wild 
horse  of  his  lust,  galloping  on  with  hell's  wolves  behind  him,'  till  stopped  and 
liberated  by  a  mighty  hand.  The  sermon  entitled,  '  The  People's  Christ,'  contains 
a  very  striking  description  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  In  that  on  '  The 
Eternal  Home,'  the  contrast  between  the  dying  thief  before  and  after  his  conversion, 
is  powerfully  drawn.  The  rage  of  Satan,  on  the  rescue  of  a  sinner  from  his  grasp, 
forms  a  picture  of  terrific  grandeur.  In  the  sermon  on  'The  Bible,'  the  respective 
characteristics  of  the  holy  penmen  are  sketched  with  a  masterly  comprehension  of 
their  peculiarities  and  command  of  words.  .  .  .  The  beautiful  sermon  on  the  words, 
'  So  He  giveth  His  beloved  sleep,'  exhibits  a  variety  and  force  which  stamp 
the  master." 


CHAPTER    XL. 


Jficst  iiterarg  Jficnlis  (Continued). 

I  have  striven,  with  all  my  might,  to  attain  the  position  of  complete  independence  of  all  men.  I 
have  found,  at  times,  if  I  have  been  much  praised,  and  if  my  heart  has  given  way  a  little,  and  I  have 
taken  notice  of  it,  and  felt  pleased,  that  the  next  time  I  was  censured  and  abused  I  felt  the  censure  and 
abuse  very  keenly,  for  the  very  fact  that  I  accepted  the  commendation,  rendered  me  more  sensitive 
to  the  censure.  So  that  I  have  tried,  especially  of  late,  to  take  no  more  notice  of  man's  praise  than  of 
his  blame,  but  to  rest  simply  upon  this  truth,— I  know  that  I  have  a  pure  motive  in  what  I  attempt 
to  do,  I  am  conscious  that  I  endeavour  to  serve  God  with  a  single  eye  to  His  glory,  and  therefore  it  is 
not  for  me  to  take  either  praise  or  censure  from  man,  but  to  stand  independently  upon  the  solid  rock 
of  right  doing- — C.  H.  S. 


N  February  i8,  1856,  just  a  year  after  his  first  article,  Mr.  James 
Grant  wrote  as  follows  in  The  Morning  Advei-tiser : — "When  Mr. 
Spurgeon  was  preaching  in  Exeter  Hall  to  the  most  densely- 
crowded  audiences  that  ever  assembled  within  the  walls  of  that 
spacious  place,  we  called  especial  attention  to  his  qualities  as  a 
preacher  and  as  a  theologian.  We  pointed  out  freely,  but  in  the 
spirit  of  sincere  friendship,  what  we  conceived  to  be  his  faults  both  in  matter  and 
manner,  and  expressed  not  only  a  hope  but  a  belief  that,  as  he  was  so  young  a 
man, — not  having  then  reached  his  majority, — he  would,  with  the  lapse  of  time, 
which  generally  matures  the  judgment,  as  well  as  mellows  the  mind,  get  rid,  in  a 
great  measure,  if  not  wholly,  of  what  we  then  specified  as  defects.  It  gives  us  great 
gratification  to  say  that,  having  heard  him  recendy  in  his  own  chapel,  in  New  Park 
Street,  Southwark,  we  discern  a  decided  improvement  both  as  regards  his  matter 
and  manner. 

"  Not  that  there  is  any  change  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  doctrinal  views,  or  in  his 
mode  of  illustrating,  enforcing,  and  applying  them,  but  that  there  is  less  of  the 
pugnacious  quality  about  him  when  grappling  with  the  views  of  those  from  whom  he 
differs.  He  does  not  speak  so  often  with  asperity  of  other  preachers  of  the  gospel, 
whom  he  conceives — and  we  must  say,  in  the  main,  rightly, — to  be  unfaithful  to 
their  high  calling.  There  is,  too,  a  marked  and  gratifying  improvement  in  Mr. 
Spurgeon  as  regards  the  manner  of  his  pulpit  appearances.  He  was  always 
profoundly  earnest  in  his  appeals  to  the  consciences  of  the  unconverted  ;  and 
spoke  with  an  emphasis  which  showed  how  deeply  he  felt,  when  dwelling  on  the 
joys  and  sorrows,  the  hopes  and  the  fears  of  believers.  And  yet,  strange  to  say, 
there  was  at   times   associated  with   this    a  seeming   irreverence   which,   we   know, 


72  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

frequently  caused  much  pain  to  some  of  his  greatest  friends  and  admirers.      In  this 
respect  also,  we  are  happy  to  say,  we  can  discern  a  decided  amendment.   .  .   . 

"  Never,  since  the  days  of  George  Whitefield,  has  any  minister  of  religion 
acquired  so  great  a  reputation  as  this  Baptist  preacher,  in  so  short  a  time.  Here  is 
a  mere  youth, — a  perfect  stripling,  only  twenty-one  years  of  age, — incomparably  the 
most  popular  preacher  of  the  day.  There  is  no  man  within  her  Majesty's  dominions 
who  could  draw  such  immense  audiences  ;  and  none  who,  in  his  happier  efforts,  can 
so  completely  enthral  the  attention,  and  delight  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  Some  of 
his  appeals  to  the  conscience,  some  of  his  remonstrances  with  the  careless,  constitute 
specimens  of  a  very  high  order  of  oratorical  power.  .  .  .  When  this  able  and 
eloquent  preacher  first  made  his  appearance  in  the  horizon  of  the  religious  world, 
and  dazzled  the  masses  in  the  metropolis  by  his  brilliancy,  we  were  afraid  that  he 
might  either  get  intoxicated  by  the  large  draughts  of  popularity  which  he  had  daily 
to  drink,  or  that  he  would  not  be  able,  owing  to  a  want  of  variety,  to  sustain  the 
reputation  he  had  so  suddenly  acquired.  Neither  result  has  happened.  Whatever 
may  be  his  defects,  either  as  a  man  or  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  it  is  due  to  him 
to  state  that  he  has  not  been  spoiled  by  popular  applause.  Constitutionally  he  has 
in  him  no  small  amount  of  self-esteem,  but  so  far  from  its  growing  with  his  daily- 
extending  fame,  he  appears  to  be  more  humble  and  more  subdued  than  when  he 
first  burst  on  our  astonished  gaze.  With  regard  again  to  our  other  fear,  that  his 
excellence  as  a  preacher  would  not  be  sustained,  the  event  has,  we  rejoice  to  say,  no 
less  agreeably  proved  the  groundlessness  of  our  apprehensions.  There  is  no  falling 
off  whatever.  On  the  contrary,  he  is,  in  some  respects,  improving  with  the  lapse  of 
time.  We  fancv  we  can  see  his  striking  originality  to  greater  advantage  than 
at  first." 

As  a  specimen  of  the  early  friendly  notices  in  the  provincial  press,  the  following 
maybe  given  from  The  Western  Times,  February  23,  1856  : — 
"  Another  Extr.^ordinary  Preacher. 

"  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  in  the  Baptist  denomination  of  Christians  in  this 
country,  there  have  sprung  up,  from  time  to  time,  ministers  of  extraordinary  Biblical 
and  other  learning,  and  of  great  talent  and  pulpit  eloquence.  We  may  refer  to  Dr. 
Carey,  Dr.  Gill,  Dr.  Rippon,  the  distinguished  Robert  Hall,  of  Bristol  (whose 
discourses  Brougham  and  Canning  were  glad  to  listen  to),  and  many  others,  in  proof 
of  this  peculiarity.  It  seems  that  another  light  has  now  sprung  up  among  the 
Baptists,  which  bids  fair  to  rival,  if  not  to  eclipse,  the  departed  luminaries :  we  mean, 
the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  who,  although  but  just  arrived  at  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
seems  in  the  pulpit  and  the  press  to  have  astonished  the  religious  world.  This 
young   Baptist  minister's    preaching  created  a  great  sensation   in   Bristol,  a  short 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  /3 

time  since,  and  his  visits  to  other  places  have  excited  intense  interest.  In  Glasgow 
and  other  parts  of  Scotland,  this  gifted  young  minister  has  also,  with  marvellous 
effect,  carried  home  to  the  hearts  of  crowded  audiences  the  saving  truths  of  '  the 
everlasting  gospel'  There  is  a  singularity  also  about  Mr.  Spurgeon,  for  he  is 
emphatically  '  one  of  the  people  ; '  and,  by  the  gifts  and  graces  with  which  he  is 
endowed,  he  shows  to  the  world  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  as 
He  called  His  apostles  from  the  class  of  humble  fishermen,  when  He  'tabernacled 
on  earth  in  the  flesh,'  so  now  that  He  is  in  Heaven,  He  continues  to  call  labourers 
into  His  vineyard  from  the  working-men  of  polished  society." 

It  was  not  easy  to  decide  whether  the  following  paragraphs,  from  The  Freeman, 
February  27,  1856,  should  be  inserted  here  or  be  included  in  Chapter  XXXVHI.  ; 
readers  may  be  able  to  setde  that  point  to  their  own  satisfaction  . — 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  unquestionably  a  phenomenon  ;  a  star,  a  meteor,  or  at  all 
events  something  strange  and  dazzling  in  the  horizon  of  the  'religious  world.'  The 
old  lights  have  gone  down,  and  since  Irving,  and  Hall,  and  Chalmers  'fell  asleep,' 
there  has  been  no  preacher  who  has  created  a  '  sensation  '  at  all  to  be  compared  with 
the  young  minister  of  New  Park  Street  Chapel.  But  do  not  let  our  readers  imagine 
that  they  have  found  here  a  luminary  of  the  same  class  with  those  we  have  just 
named.  Whatever  Mr.  Spurgeon's  merits  may  be, — and  he  has  some  rare  ones, — 
they  are  of  a  very  different  order  from  those  which  distinguished  the  mighty 
preachers  of  the  last  generation.  They  were  all  men  of  gigantic  reasoning  powers, 
of  refined  taste,  of  profound  scholarship,  and  of  vast  theological  learning.  Of  all 
these  qualities,  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  litde  enough  ;  nor,  to  do  him  justice,  does  he 
pretend  to  any  of  them,  except  perhaps  in  some  unlucky  moments  to  the  last.  But 
it  will  probably  be  agreed,  by  all  competent  judges,  that  neither  Irving,  nor  Hall, 
nor  even  Chalmers,  was  so  well  fitted  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  poor  and  ignorant, 
as  is  this  modern  orator  of  the  pulpit.  Their  writings  will  last  for  many  generations, 
and  will  be  as  fresh  to  the  latest  as  they  are  to-day;  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  will 
perhaps  *  soon  be  forgotten  for  ever,  but  they  go  to  the  hearts  of  the  multitude  ;  and 
as  he  has  the  good  sense  to  know  the  direction  in  which  his  talent  lies,  he  promises 
to  be  incomparably  useful  in  a  class  of  society  which  preachers  too  often  complain  is 
utterly  beyond  their  reach. 

"A  lively  imagination,  sometimes  rising  to  the  region  of  poetry,  but  more 
frequently  delighting  in  homely  and  familiar  figures  of  speech  ;  a  free,  colloquial 
manner  of  address,  that  goes  directly  to  the  understanding  of  the  simplest  ;  and  an 

*  That '■  perhaps  "  just  saves  the  prophet's  reputation.  Over  a  hundred  millions  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  have  been 
already  issued,  and  they  are  prized  beyond  measure  by  an  ever-increasing  circle  of  readers.  Can  this  be  said  of  "  the  old  lights, 
— Irving,  and  Hall,  and  Chalmers  "  ? 


74  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

enthusiastic  ardour,  that  must  prove  catching  to  all  his  hearers,  unless  they  are  more 
than  usually  insensible,  are  the  chief  legitimate  attractions  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  style  ; 
and  they  are  qualities  so  rare  in  their  combination,  and  are  in  him  so  strongly 
developed,  as  to  stamp  him,  in  our  judgment,  with  the  decided  impress  of  genius. 
We  should  suppose  that  it  must  be  impossible  to  hear  him  without  acquiring  for  him  a 
sentiment  of  respect  ;  for  if  offended  by  his  extravagances,  as  the  thoughtful  certainly 
will  be,  the  offence  is  so  immediately  atoned  for  by  some  genuine  outburst  of  feeling, 
that  you  remember  that  his  extravagances  are  but  the  errors  of  a  youth,  and  that  the 
material  on  which  these  excrescences  appear  is  that  out  of  which  aposdes  and 
martyrs  have  in  every  age  been  fashioned.  You  pardon  his  follies,  for  they  are 
nothing  else,  for  the  sake  of  his  unquestionable  sincerity  and  impassioned  zeal.  You 
wish  it  had  been  possible  that  a  mind  so  gifted  might  have  received  more  culture 
before  it  was  called  into  its  present  dangerous  position  ;  but  finding  it  as  it  is,  you 
accept  it  with  gratitude,  and  pray  God,  the  All-wise,  to  be  its  Guide  and  Protector. 
.  .  .  We  see  in  Mr.  Spurgeon  a  soul-loving  preacher  of  Christ's  gospel.  Few 
have  his  peculiar  gifts  for  arresting  the  attention  of  the  thoughtless,  or  inspiring  the 
cold  with  fervour.  These  are  high  endowments  ;  high,  but  awfully  responsible.  Of 
that  responsibility  we  believe,  too,  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  no  mean  sense.  And 
therefore,  we  hope,  not  without  confidence,  that  his  usefulness  will  continually 
augment,  and  that  whatever  detracts  from  it  will  gradually  disappear." 

A  more  favourable  notice  appeared  in  The  Christian  Weekly  News,  March  4, 
1856  : — "Great  orators,  whether  pulpit,  platform,  or  senatorial,  make  many  friends 
and  many  foes.  This  is  inevitable  ;  but  it  is  not  our  purpose,  just  now,  to  investigate 
or  set  forth  the  reasons  for  this  result.  The  fact  being  granted,  we  are  at  no  loss  to 
account  for  the  applause  and  contumely  which  have  been  heaped  upon  the  young 
minister  whose  sermons  are  before  us.  His  appearance  and  labours  in  this 
metropolis  have  excited  in  all  religious  circles,  and  even  beyond  them,  attention  and 
surprise,  if  not  admiration.  Scarcely  more  than  a  youth  in  years,  comparatively 
untutored,  and  without  a  name,  he  enters  the  greatest  city  in  the  world,  and  almost 
simultaneously  commands  audiences  larger  than  have  usually  listened  to  her  most 
favoured  preachers.  Almost  daily  has  he  occupied  pulpits  in  various  parts  of  town  and 
country,  and  everywhere  been  greeted  by  overflowing  congregations.  As  might  be 
expected,  many  who  have  listened  to  him  have  gone  away  to  speak  ill  of  his  name  ; 
while  others,  and  by  far  the  larger  number,  have  been  stimulated  by  his  earnestness, 
instructed  by  his  arguments,  and  melted  by  his  appeals.  We  have  seen,  among  his 
hearers,  ministers  of  mark  of  nearly  every  section  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  laymen 
well  known  in  all  circles  as  the  supporters  of  the  benevolent  and  Evangelical 
institutions  of  the  day  ;  and  citizens  of   renown,  from   the  chief  magistrate  down  to 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 


75 


the  parish  beadle.  That  the  man  who  causes  such  a.pu-or  must  possess  some  power 
not  commonly  found  in  men  of  his  profession,  will  only  be  doubted  by  his  detractors. 
Whether  that  power  be  physical,  intellectual,  or  moral,  or  a  happy  blending  of  them 
all,  is.  perhaps,  a  question  not  yet  fully  decided  even  in  the  minds  of  many  of  his 
warmest  admirers.  The  sermons  before  us  would,  we  think,  if  carefully  examined, 
help  them  to  a  decision.  .  .  .  Among  the  reasons  to  which,  in  our  opinion,  may 
be  attributed  the  unbounded  popularity  of  our  author,  we  would  name  his  youth,  his 
devotedness,  his  earnestness,  but  especially  that  thrilling  eloquence  which  can  at 
once  open  the  floodgates  of  the  soul  of  the  thousands  forming  a  Sabbath  morning 
audience  within  the  walls  of  Exeter  Hall.  May  the  Lord  continue  to  hold  him  as  a 
star  in  His  right  hand,  and  through  his  instrumentality  bring  many  souls  to  bow  to 
the  sceptre  of  His  love  and  mercy  !  " 


.^^H^ 

,1  ^ic-»^H^^B^^H^^^K^-J  r!^H 

'' lIpKHl^^^te;'- -^: 

The  list  of  "  first  literary  friends  "  would  not  be  complete  unless  it  included  Rev. 
Edwin  Paxton  Hood.      His  volume,  The  Lamps  of  the   Temple,  published  in  1856, 


76  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

contained  a  long  and  appreciative  article  on  Mr.  Spurgeon,  in  the  course  of  which 
the  writer  said  : — 

"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  mere  lad — this  boy  preacher — is  the  most 
remarkable  pulpit  celebrity  of  his  day  ;  it  must  be  admitted  that,  amidst  all  the 
popularities,  there  is  no  popularity  like  his.  .  .  .  Among-  things — remarkable  or  not 
remarkable  according  to  the  reader's  ideas, — is  the  treatment  of  the  young  preacher 
by  his  brethren — shall  we  say,  brethren  ? — in  the  ministry.  We  understand  they 
have  pretty  generally  agreed  to  regard  him  as  a  black  sheep.  His  character  is  good, 
— unexceptionable  ; — his  doctrines  have  no  dangerous  heresy  in  them  ; — still,  he  is 
tabooed.  The  other  day,  a  very  eminent  minister,  whose  portrait  we  have 
attemped  to  sketch  in  this  volume,  and  whom  we  certainly  regarded  as  incapable  of 
so  much  meanness  when  we  were  sketching  it, — perhaps  the  most  eminent  of  the 
London  Dissenting  ministers, — was  invited  to  open  a  chapel  in  the  country, — at  any 
rate,  to  take  the  evening  service  ;  but  he  found  that  Spurgeon  was  to  take  the 
morning,  and  he  smartly  refused  to  mi.x  in  the  affair :  it  was  pitiable,  and  we 
discharged  ourselves,  as  in  duty  bound,  of  an  immense  quantity  of  pity  upon  the 
head  of  the  poor  jealous  man,  who  dreaded  lest  the  shadow  of  a  rival  should  fall 
prematurely  over  his  pulpit.  No  ;  usually  the  ministers  have  not  admired  this 
advent  ;  the  tens  of  thousands  of  persons,  who  flock  to  hear  the  youth  preach  his 
strong  nervous  gospel,  do  not  at  all  conciliate  them, — perhaps  rather  exasperate  them. 
It  would  be  easy  to  pick  up  a  thousand  criticisms  on  the  preacher  ;  many,  not  to  say 
most  of  them,  very  severe.  He  is  flattered  by  a  hurricane  of  acrimonious  remark 
and  abuse,  and  perhaps  owes  his  popularity  in  no  small  degree  to  this  sweeping  con- 
demnation. One  thing  is  certain, — Spurgeon's  back  is  broad,  and  his  skin  is  thick  ; 
he  can,  we  fancy,  bear  a  good  deal,  and  bear  a  good  deal  without  wincing.  Little 
more  than  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  is  the  topic  and  theme  of  remark  now  in  every 
part  of  England  ;  and  severe  as  some  of  his  castigators  are,  he  returns  their  castiga- 
tion  frequently  with  a  careless,  downright,  hearty  goodwill.  Beyond  a  doubt,  the  lad 
is  impudent,  very  impudent  ; — were  he  not,  he  could  not,  at  such  an  age,  be  where  he 
is,  or  what  he  is.   .  .  . 

"A  characteristic  mark  of  the  fulness  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  mind,  and  his  entire 
abandonment  to  his  subject,  is  his  plunging  at  once  into  it  from  the  first  paragraph 
of  his  sermon.  He  does  not  often  beat  about  with  prepared  exordiums,  and  yet  his 
exordium  is  frequently  not  only  very  beautiful,  but  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  portion 
of  his  discourse.  Is  it  not  a  rule  with  the  rhetoricians,  with  Dr.  Whately  and  others, 
that  the  exordium  should  be  prepared  nearly  at  the  close  of  the  oration,  when  all  the 
powers  of  the  mind  and  heart  are  alive  with  the  subject,  so  that  the  auditors  may 
have  their  attention  arrested  by  those  passages  which  will  represent  the  orator's  most 
inflamed  and  pathetic  state  of  feeling  ?     We  can  very  well  acquit  our  speaker  of  any 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  77 

slavish  following  of  this  rule  ;  possibly,  probably,  he  may  be  ignorant  of  it,  but  he  is 
the  subject  of  it.  Wrapt  and  possessed  by  his  topics  of  thought  and  feeling,  he 
frequently  seems  to  cast  over  the  people  the  state  of  mind  induced  in  him  by  the  last 
impressions  of  his  text.  His  words  often  are  more  calm,  beautiful,  suggestive,  and 
subduing  in  his  opening  than  in  any  of  his  following  remarks.  .  .  .  We  hear  that 
Mr.  Spurgeon  has  models  upon  which  he  forms  his  mind  and  style.  We  think  it 
very  doubtful  ;  but,  at  any  rate,  he  does  not  follow  them  slavishly  ;  he  has  in  his 
speech  true  mental  and  moral  independence.  Robert  Hall  was  charged  with 
imitating  Robert  Robinson,  of  Cambridge  ; — in  fact,  there  was  not  the  slightest 
resemblance  between  those  two  minds.  .Spurgeon  is  said  to  imitate  Robert  Hall 
and  William  Jay.  No  doubt  he  has  read  them  both,  but  his  style  is  wholly  unlike 
theirs  ;  he,  perhaps,  has  something  of  William  Jay's  plan  and  method,  and  that  is 
all  ;  but  to  Robert  Hall  there  is  not  the  most  remote  resemblance.  He  has  not  the 
purity,  power,  nor  speed  of  that  inimitable  master  ;  he  is  not  at  all  qualified  to  shine 
in  the  brilliant  intellectual  firmament  in  which  he  held  his  place.  We  should  give 
to  him  a  very  different  location.  He  has  the  unbridled  and  undisciplined  fancy  of 
Hervey,  without  his  elegance  ;  but,  instead  of  that,  the  drollery  of  Berridge  and  the 
ubiquitous  earnestness  of  Rowland  Hill,  in  his  best  days.  But  it  is  probable  that  many 
of  us  walk  far  too  gingerly  in  our  estimate  of  public  speech.  He  who  determines 
never  to  use  a  word  that  shall  grate  harshly  on  the  ears  of  a  refined  taste,  may  be 
certain  that  he  will  never  be  very  extensively  useful  ;  the  people  love  the  man  who 
will  condescend  to  their  idiom,  and  the  greatest  preachers — those  who  have  been  the 
great  apostles  of  a  nation, — have  always  condescended  to  this.  Bossuet,  Massillon, 
Hall,  Chalmers,  McAll,  were  the  doctors  of  the  pulpit;  at  their  feet  sat  the  refine- 
ment, the  scholarship,  the  politeness  of  their  times  ;  but  such  men  as  Luther  and 
Latimer,  St.  Clara  and  Knox,  Whitefield  and  Christmas  Evans — such  men  have 
always  seized  on  the  prevailing  dialect,  and  made  it  tell  with  immense  power  on  their 
auditors. 

"A  question  repeatedly  asked  by  many  persons,  when  they  have  either  heard,  or 
heard  of,  this  young  man  is,  '  Will  he  last,  will  he  wear  ? '  To  which  we  have  ahvays 
replied,  'Why  not?'  There  is,  apparently,  no  strain  in  the  production  of  these 
discourses  ;  they  bear  every  appearance  of  being,  on  the  whole,  spontaneous  talkings. 
The  preacher  speaks  from  the  full  and  overflowing  spring  within  him,  and  speaks, 
as  we  have  said,  many  times  during  the  week.  Some  of  his  sermons  are  charac- 
terized by  great  mental  poverty  ;  some,  and  most,  by  a  great  mental  wealth  ;  so  is  it 
with  all  preachers,  even  those  who  consume  the  midnight  oil,  and  make  it  their 
boast  that  they  can  only  produce  one  sermon  a  week.  .  .  .  Our  preacher's  fulness 
and  readiness  is,  to  our  mind,  a  guarantee  that  he  will  wear,  and  not  wear  out.  His 
present  amazing  popularity  will  of   course  subside,   but   he   will   still  be  amazingly 


78  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

followed  ;  and  what  he  is  now,  we  prophesy,  he  will  on  the  whole  remain  :  for 
polished  diction,  we  shall  not  look  to  him  ;  for  the  long  and  stately  argument,  we 
shall  not  look  to  him  ;  for  the  original  and  profound  thought,  we  shall  not  look 
to  him  ;  for  the  clear  and  lucid  criticism,  we  shall  not  look  to  him  ; — but  for  bold  and 
convincing  statements  of  Evangelical  truth,  for  a  faithful  grappling  with  convictions, 
for  happy  and  pertinent  illustrations,  for  graphic  description,  and  for  searching 
common  sense,  we  shall  look,  and  we  believe  we  shall  seldom  look  in  vain.  In  a 
word,  he  preaches, — not  to  metaphysicians  or  logicians, — neither  to  poets  nor  to 
savans, — to  masters  of  erudition  or  masters  of  rhetoric  ;  he  preaches  to  men.' 

This  chapter  may  be  fitly  closed  with  extracts  from  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "  IJ'/iy 
so  Popular?  An  Hour  luit/i  Rf-j.  C.  H.  Spurgeoii.  By  a  Doctor  of  Divinit)."  It 
caused  a  great  stir  in  the  religious  world  when  it  appeared,  and  there  is  a  special 
appropriateness  in  the  poetical  conclusion  now  that  the  beloved  preacher,  as  a  star, 
has  melted  into  the  light  of  Heaven.  The  writer,  addressing  his  remarks  personally 
to  Mr.  Spurgeon,  says  : — 

"  Your  ministry  has  attained  the  dignity  of  a  moral  phenomenon  ;  you  stand 
on  an  eminence  which,  since  the  days  of  Whitefield,  no  minister — with  a  single 
exception,  if  indeed,  there  be  one, — of  any  church  in  this  realm  has  attained.  You 
have  access  to  a  larger  audience  than  the  magic  ot  any  other  name  can  gather  ;  you 
have  raised  a  church  from  obscurity  to  eminence, — perhaps  I  might  add  (rumour  is 
my  authority)  from  spiritual  indigence  to  affluence.  You  entered  on  a  sphere, 
where — to  use  the  mildest  word, — languor  '  held  unbroken  Sabbath  ; '  and  in  less 
than  three  short  years  you  have,  instrumentally,  gathered  a  large,  united,  zealous, 
energetic  church,  second,  in  numbers,  in  burning"  zeal,  and  in  active  effort,  to  no 
other  church  in  the  metropolis.  .  .  . 

"  Nor  has  God  given  you  favour  with  your  own  people  alone.  Blessed 
with  a  vigorous  mind,  and  with  great  physical  energy, — mens  sana  ?;/  corpore 
sano, — you  have  consecrated  all  to  your  Master's  service,  and  hence  you  have 
become  an  untiring  evangelist.  East,  West,  North,  South, — in  England,  Wales, 
and  Scotland,  your  preaching  is  appreciated  by  the  people,  and  has  been  blessed 
of  God.  No  place  has  been  large  enough  to  receive  the  crowds  who  flocked 
to  hear  'the  young  Whitefield';  and,  on  many  occasions,  you  have  preached  the 
glorious  gospel,  the  sward  of  the  green  earth  being  the  floor  on  which,  and  the 
vault  of  the  blue  heaven  the  canopy  under  which,  you  announced,  to  uncounted 
thousands,  '  all  the  words  of  this  life.'  Your  name  has  thus  become  '  familiar  as  a 
household  word  '  in  most  ot  the  churches  and  many  of  the  families  of  our  land  ; 
and  the  young  Pastor  of  Southwark  has  taken  his  place  among  the  celebrities  of  our 
land, — and,  among  the  ecclesiastical  portion  of  these,  he  is  'higher  than  the  highest.' 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  79 

"  On  another,  and  much  higher  ground,  I  would  offer  my  congratulations. 
Usefulness  is  the  law  of  the  moral  universe.  This,  in  relation  to  the  Christian 
ministry,  means  the  moral  renovation,  the  saving  conversion  of  human  souls. 
Nothing  short  of  this  can  satisfy  the  desires  of  any  '  godly  minister  of  Christ's 
gospel,'  and,  therefore,  all  such  will  estimate  the  amount  of  their  success  b)-  the 
number  of  well-sustained  instances  ot  conversion,  which  are  the  fruit,  under  God's 
blessing,  of  their  ministerial  labours.  Subjected  to  this  test,  the  ministry  of  him  to 
whom  my  congratulations  are  now  presented,  is  placed  above  all  the  ministries  with 
which  I  have  any  acquaintance,  or  of  which  I  possess  any  authentic  information. 
He  states — so  I  am  informed, — that  more  than  one  thousand  souls  have  been 
hopefully  converted  to  God,  during  the  past  year,  by  the  instrumentality  ot  his 
ministry  ;  and  that,  as  the  result  of  his  metropolitan  and  provincial  labours,  during 
the  period  of  his  short  but  successful  pastorate,  several  thousands,  who  had  erred 
from  the  truth,  or  never  known  it,  have  been  raised  or  restored  to  holiness, 
happiness,  and  God.  'This  is  the  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.'  I 
know  something  of  the  state  of  religion  in  our  British  churches,  and  1  do  not 
hesitate  to  avow  my  belief  that,  among  the  thousands — and,  happily,  their  name  is 
legion — who  now  proclaim  the  fundamental  verities  of  the  Christian  revelation,  there 
is  not  one  who  can  truthfully  say,  as  you  can,  that,  during  three  short  years, 
thousands — as  the  fruit  of  his  ministry — have  been  added  to  the  fellowship  of  his 
own  church,  and  of  other  churches.   .   .   . 

"  I  am  fully  aware  that,  if  I  asked  yourself  the  question,  '  Why  so  popular,  and 
why  so  useful  ? '  you  would  reply,  in  a  self-humbling,  God-exalting  spirit,  '  I  am 
nothing  :  God  is  all  ;  and  to  His  sovereignty  I  ascribe  all  my  popularity  and  all  my 
success.'  While  admiring  the  spirit  of  this  declaration,  I  decline  to  accept  it  as  an 
answer  to  my  question.  God  is  a  Sovereign  ;  and  in  His  sovereignty — essential  to 
his  Godhead, — He  has  a  right  to  give  His  Spirit  when,  where,  to  whom,  and  in 
what  proportion  He  pleases  ;  but  He  has  no  caprice,  no  senseless,  reasonless 
arbitrariness  in  His  administration.  He  never  acts  without  reason,  though,  in  His 
sovereign  right.  He  often  withholds  from  His  creature,  man,  the  reasons  which 
influence  the  Divine  mind.     This,  and  not  caprice,  is  God's  sovereignty. 

"  If  I  cannot  discover  the  secret  of  your  popularity  in  zv/za^  you  preach,  can  I 
find  it  in  any  peculiarity  in  your  mode  of  preaching  ?  Here  is,  in  my  judgment,  the 
explanation  of  the  secret.  J'ou  have  strong  faith,  and,  as  the  result,  intense 
EARNESTNESS.  lu  tkis  I'lcs,  as  in  the  hair  of  Samson,  the  secret  of  your  poivej:  Go 
on,  my  brother,  and  may  God  give  you  a  still  larger  amount  of  ministerial  success  ! 
'  Preach  the  Word,'  the  old  theology,  that  '  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God  '  for 
which  apostles  laboured  and  martyrs  died.  In  all  your  teachings,  continue  to  exhibit 
the   cross   of  Christ  as  occupying,  in  the   Christian  revelation,  like  the  sun   in  our 


So  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

planetary  system,  the  very  centre,  and  imparting  to  all  their  lignt  and  heat.  Tell  the 
people  that  every  doctrine,  duty,  or  promise  of  the  Scriptures  stands  intimately 
connected  with  the  cross,  and  from  that  connection  derives  its  meaning  and  value 
to  us.  Thus  exhibiting  the  whole  system  of  Divine  Truth  in  its  harmony  and 
symmetry, — judging  even  by  your  own  antecedents, — what  a  glorious  prospect  of 
honour,  happiness,  and  usefulness  presents  itself  to  your  view  !  A  star  in  the 
churches, — a  star  of  no  mean  magnitude,  of  no  ordinary  brilliancy, — you  may  be 
honoured  to  diffuse,  very  luminously,  the  derived  glories  you  possess,  and,  having 
run  your  appointed  course,  ultimately  set — but  far  distant  be  the  day  ! — as  sets  the 
morning  star, — 

"  '  Which  falls  not  down  behind  the  darkened  West, 
Nor  hides  obscured  amid  the  tempests  of  the  sliy, 
But  melts  away  into  the  light  of  Heaven  ! '  " 


(N.B. — Mr.  Spurgeon's  autobiographical  narrative  is  resumed   in   the  lollowing 
chapter.) 


CHAPTER    XLI. 


"hx  iaijours  JHoit  flfauuliant/' 

If  Christ  should  leave  the  upper  world,  and  come  into  the  midst  of  this  hall,  this  morning, 
what  answer  could  you  give,  if,  after  showing  you  His  wounded  hands  and  feet,  and  His  rent  side,  He 
should  put  this  question,  "  1  have  suffered  thus  for  thee,  what  hast  thou  done  for  Me?"  Let  me  put 
that  question  for  Him,  and  in  His  behalf  You  have  known  His  love,  some  of  you  fifty  years,  some  of 
you  thirty,  twenty,  ten,  three,  one.  For  you  He  gave  His  precious  life,  and  died  upon  the  cross,  in 
agonies  most  exquisite.  What  have  you  done  for  Him  ?  Turn  over  your  diary.  Can  you  remember 
the  contributions  you  have  given  out  of  your  wealth?  What  do  they  amount  to?  Add  them  up. 
Think  of  what  you  have  done  for  Jesus,  how  much  of  your  time  you  have  spent  in  His  service.  Add 
that  up,  turn  over  another  leaf,  and  then  observe  how  much  time  you  have  spent  in  praying  for  the 
progress  of  His  Kingdom.  What  have  you  done  there  ?  Add  that  up.  I  will  do  so  for  myself ;  and  I  can 
say,  without  a  boast,  that  I  have  zealously  served  my  God,  and  have  been  "in  labours  more  abundant ;" 
but  when  I  come  to  add  all  up,  and  set  what  I  have  done  side  by  side  with  what  I  owe  to  Christ,  it  is 
less  than  nothing  and  vanity  ;  I  pour  contempt  upon  it  all,  it  is  but  dust  of  vanity.  And  though,  from 
this  day  forward,  I  should  preach  every  hour  in  the  day  ;  though  I  should  spend  myself  and  be  spent  for 
Christ ;  though  by  night  I  should  know  no  rest,  and  by  day  I  should  never  cease  from  toil,  and  year  should 
succeed  to  year  till  this  hair  was  hoary  and  this  frame  exhausted;  when  I  come  to  render  up  my 
account,  He  might  say,  "Well  done;"  but  I  should  not  feel  it  was  so,  but  should  rather  say,  "I  am 
still  an  unprofitable  servant ;  I  have  not  done  that  which  it  was  even  my  bare  duty  to  do,  much  less 
have  I  done  all  I  would  to  show  the  love  I  owe."  Now,  as  you  think  what  you  have  done,  dear  brother 
and  sister,  surely  your  account  must  fall  short  equally  with  mine. — C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  preached  at  the 
Music  Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens,  June  26,  1859. 


1^  E FORE  I  came  to  London,  I  usually  preached  three  times  on  the 
Lord's-day,  and  five  nights  every  week  ;  and  after  I  became 
Pastor  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  that  average  was  fully  main- 
tained. Within  two  or  three  years,  it  was  considerably  exceeded, 
for  it  was  no  uncommon  experience  for  me  to  preach  twelve  or 
thirteen  times  a  week,  and  to  travel  hundreds  of  miles  by  road  or 
rail.  Requests  to  take  services  in  all  parts  of  the  metropolis  and  the  provinces 
poured  in  upon  me,  and  being  in  the  full  vigour  of  early  manhood,  I  gladly  availed 
myself  of  every  opportunity  of  preaching  the  gospel  which  had  been  so  greatly 
blessed  to  my  own  soul.  In  after  years,  when  weakness  and  pain  prevented  me  from 
doing  all  that  I  would  willingly  have  done  for  my  dear  Lord,  I  often  comforted 
myself  with  the  thought  that  I  did  serve  Him  with  all  my  might  while  I  could, 
though  even  then  I  always  felt  that  I  could  never  do  enough  for  Him  who  had  loved 
me,  and  given  Himself  for  me.  Some  of  my  ministerial  brethren  used  to  mourn 
over  the  heavy  burden  that  rested  upon  them  because  they  had  to  deliver  their 
Master's  message  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  once  on  a  week-night  ;  but  I  could  not 
sympathize  with  them  in  their  coitiplaints,  for  the  more  often  I  preached,  the  more 
joy  I  found  in  the  happy  service.      I  was  also  specially  sustained  under  the  strain  of 

F 


Hi  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

such  constant  labour  by  continual  tokens  of  the  Lord's  approval.  I  find  that, 
preaching  to  my  own  people  at  New  Park  Street,  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  1855,  from 
Deuteronomy  xi.  10 — 12, — "  For  the  land,  whither  thou  goest  in  to  possess  it,  is  not 
as  the  land  of  Egypt,  from  whence  ye  came  out,  where  thou  sowedst  thy  seed,  and 
wateredst  it  with  thy  toot,  as  a  garden  ot  herbs  :  but  the  land,  whither  ye  go  to 
possess  it,  is  a  land  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  drinketh  water  of  the  rain  of  heaven  :  a 
land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  careth  for  :  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  thy  God  are  always 
upon  it,  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  even  unto  the  end  of  the  year  ;  " — I  was  able 
to  bear  this  testimony  to  the  Divine  power  that  had  accompanied  the  Word  : — 

"  Beloved  friends,  I  can  say  that,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord  have  been  specially  upon  me  all  this  year.  It  has  been  my  privilege  very 
frequently  to  preach  His  Word  ;  I  think,  during  the  past  twelve  months,  I  have 
stood  in  the  pulpit  to  testify  His  truth  more  than  four  hundred  times,  and  blessed 
be  His  Name,  whether  it  has  been  in  the  North,  in  the  South,  in  the  East,  or  in  the 
West,  I  have  never  lacked  a  congregation  ;  nor  have  I  ever  gone  again  to  any  of  the 
places  where  I  have  preached,  without  hearing-  of  souls  converted.  I  cannot  remem- 
ber a  single  village,  or  town,  that  I  have  visited  a  second  time,  without  meeting  with 
some  who  praised  the  Lord  that  they  heard  the  Word  of  truth  there  from  my  lips. 
When  I  went  to  Bradford  last  time,  I  stated  in  the  pulpit  that  I  had  never  heard  of  a 
soul  being  converted  through  my  preaching  there  ;  and  the  good  pew-opener  came 
to  Brother  Dowson,  and  said,  '  Why  didn't  you  tell  Mr.  Spurgeon  that  So-and-so 
joined  the  church  through  hearing  him  ?  '  and  instantly  that  clear  man  of  God  told 
me  the  cheering  news." 

It  would  not  be  possible  for  me  to  make  more  than  a  very  incomplete  list  of 
my  multitudinous  engagements  during  those  early  years  ;  and,  indeed,  there  is  no 
occasion  for  me  to  attempt  to  do  so,  for  the  record  of  them  is  on  high  ;  yet  certain 
circumstances  impressed  a  few  of  the  services  so  powerfully  upon  my  mind  that  I 
can  distinctly  recall  them  even  after  this  long  interval. 

I  had  promised  to  give  some  of  my  "Personal  Reminiscences"  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Pastors'  College  held  in  the  Tabernacle  on  December  i,  1880;  and 
while  I  sat  in  my  study,  that  morning,  wjth  my  two  secretaries,  Mr.  Keys  and 
Mr.  Harrald,  I  said  to  the  former  : — "  I  recollect  an  incident,  which  occurred  during 
my  first  year  in  London,  in  which  you  were  concerned."  This  is  the  story.  Old 
Mr.  Thomas  Olney — "  Father  Olney,"  as  he  was  affectionately  called  by  our  Park 
Street  friends, — was  very  anxious  that  I  should  go  and  preach  at  Tring,  the  litde 
Hertfordshire  town  where  he  was  born,  and  where  his  father,  Mr.  Daniel  Olney,  was 
for  many  years  a  deacon  in  one  of  the  three  Baptist  churches.  He  found  it  was  not 
a  very  easy  matter  to  arrange,  for  the  people  had  heard  either  so  much  or  so  little 


C.      H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  83 

about  me  that  I  could  not  be  allowed  to  appear  in  one  of  the  chapels  because  I  was 
too  high  in  doctrine  for  the  good  folk  who  worshipped  there,  and  permission  could 
not  be  obtained  for  the  use  of  another  chapel  because  I  was  too  low  in  doctrine  for 
the  dear  Hyper-Calvinist  friends  who  met  there,  and  sang,  with  a  meaning  good 
Dr.  Watts  never  intended, — 

"  We  are  a  garden  vvall'd  around, 
Chosen  and  made  peculiar  ground  ; 
A  little  spot,  enclosed  by  grace 
Out  of  the  world's  wide  wilderness." 

But  there  was  a  third  place, — the  West  End  Chapel, — the  minister  of  which  was  a 
Mr.  William  Skelton,  who  thought  that  I  was  all  right  in  doctrine,  so  Mr.  Olney 
obtained  consent  for  me  to  preach  there.  If  I  remember  rightly,  the  worthy  man's 
stipend  only  amounted  to  about  fifteen  shillings  a  week.  He  had  invited  us  to  tea 
at  his  house  ;  but  while  we  sat  in  his  humble  home,  my  conscience  rather  smote  me 
because  my  good  deacon"and  I  were  consuming  some  of  his  scanty  store  of  provisions, 
and  I  began  to  think  of  some  plan  by  which  we  could  repay  him  for  his  kindness. 
I  noticed  that  our  iriend  was  wearing  an  alpaca  coat,  which  was  very  shiny,  and  in 
places  was  so  worn  that  I  could  see  through  it.  We  went  to  the  chapel,  and  the 
service  proceeded,  and  all  the  while  I  was  pondering  in  my  mind  what  could  be  done 
for  the  worthy  man  who  had  lent  us  his  chapel,  and  entertained  us  so  generously. 
During  the  singing  of  one  of  the  hymns,  Mr.  Keys  came  up  to  the  pulpit,  and  said 
to  me,  "The  pastor  of  this  church  is  a  very  poor  man,  the  people  are  able  to  give 
him  very  little  ;  it  would  be  a  great  kindness,  sir,  if  you  could  have  a  collection  for 
him,  and  get  him  a  new  coat."  That  was  just  what  I  had  been  thinking,  so  at  the 
close  of  the  service  I  said  to  the  congregation  : — "  Now,  dear  friends,  I  have  preached 
to  you  as  well  as  I  could,  and  you  know  that  our  Saviour  said  to  His  disciples, 
'  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give.'  I  don't  want  anything  from  you  for  myself, 
but  the  minister  of  this  chapel  looks  to  me  as  though  he  would  not  object  to  a  new 
suit  of  clothes."  I  pointed  down  to  my  worthy  deacon,  and  said,  "  Father  Olney, 
down  there,  I  am  sure  will  start  the  collection  with  half  a  sovereign  (he  at  once 
nodded  his  head  to  confirm  my  statement)  ;  I  will  gladly  give  the  same  amount  ;  and 
if  you  will  all  help  as  much  as  you  can,  our  brother  will  soon  have  a  new  suit,  and  a 
good  one,  too." 

The  collection  was  made,  it  realized  a  very  fair  sum,  and  the  minister  was  in  due 
time  provided  with  suitable  garments.  I  apologised  to  him,  after  the  service,  for  my 
rudeness  in  calling  public  attention  to  his  worn  coat ;  but  he  heartily  thanked  me 
for  what  I  had  done,  and  then  added,  "  Ever  since  I  have  been  in  the  service  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my  Master  has  always  found  me  my  livery.  I  have  often 
wondered  where  the  next  suit  would  come  from,  and  I  really  was  wanting  a  new- 
one  very  badly  ;  but  now  you  have  provided  it  for  me,  and  I  am  very  grateful  both  to 


§4  C.     H.     SPURGEOn's     AUTOBIOGRArHY, 

the  Lord  and  also  to  you."  I  don't  remember  doing  quite  the  same  thing  on  any 
other  occasion,  though  I  may  have  helped  some  of  the  Lord's  poor  servants  in  a 
different  way. 

As  far  as  I  can  remember,  this  is  a  true  account  of  what  happened  at  Tring  in 
August,  1854  ;  and  1  have  often  related  the  story.  Someone  else,  however,  evidently 
thought  that  it  was  not  sufficiently  sensational,  so  it  was  very  considerably  altered, 
and  ultimately  found  its  way  into  The  Giasgoiu  Examiner,  in  May,  1861,  as  a 
communication  from  the  London  correspondent  of  that  paper.  It  is  worth  while 
to  compare  the  "authorized"  and  "revised"  versions  of  the  incident,  for  the 
discrepancies  in  the  latter  are  fairly  typical  of  the  inaccuracies  in  hundreds  of  other 
"  stories  "  that  have  been  told  of  me  during  my  ministry  in  London.  This  is  what 
the  London  correspondent  wrote  : — 

"  Rev.   C.   H.  Spurgeon  and  the  Farmers. 

"  Apropos  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  I  have  to  chronicle  a  circumstance  which  displays 
the  characteristic  benevolence  of  the  rev.  gentleman  in  a  most  amiable  light.  I  had 
the  anecdote  from  an  eye-witness,  and  hence  can  vouchsafe  (sic)  for  its  authenticitv. 
A  short  time  ago,  Mr.  Spurgeon,  while  temporarily  resident  at  Tring,  received 
a  requisition,  signed  by  the  principal  inhabitants  of  that  rural  locality,  begging  him 
to  address  them.  The  rev.  gentleman  having  courteously  assented,  the  good  people 
ol  Tring  began  to  look  about  them  for  a  building  suitable  to  the  occasion.  A 
Nonconformist  minister  was  first  applied  to  for  the  loan  of  his  chapel,  but  returned 
an  indignant  refusal.  An  application  to  the  vicar  for  the  use  of  the  parish  church 
met  with  a  similar  response.  An  open-air  meeting,  in  the  e.xisting  state  of  the 
weather,  was  out  of  the  question  ;  and,  there  being  no  room  in  the  village  sufficiently 
large  to  accommodate  a  quarter  of  the  expected  audience,  it  began  to  be  feared 
that  the  whole  affair  would  drop  through,  more  especially  as  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  to 
leave  for  town  by  an  early  train  on  the  following  morning. 

"In  this  dilemma,  a  small  farmer  in  the  neighbourhood  offered  the  use  of  a 
large  barn,  which  was  gladly  accepted.  An  extemporaneous  pulpit  was  hastily 
constructed,  and  long  before  the  hour  appointed  every  corner  of  the  place  was 
crowded  with  expectant  listeners.  On  entering  the  pulpit,  Mr.  Spurgeon  informed 
his  congregation  that,  although  he  had  only  been  asked  to  give  one  sermon,  it  was 
his  intention  to  deliver  two.  After  a  long  and  brilliant  discourse  in  his  own  peculiarly 
forcible  and  impressive  style,  he  paused  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  proceeded  : — 
'  And  now  for  sermon  number  two, — a  plain,  practical  sermon.  Our  friend  who  gave 
us  the  use  of  this  building  is  a  poor  man.  When  I  saw  him,  this  morning,  he  wore 
a  coat  all  in  tatters  ;  his  shirt  absolutely  grinned  at  me  through  the  holes.  Let  us 
show  our  appreciation  of  his  kindness  by  buying  him  a  new  suit  of  clothes.'     The 


c,    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  85 

suggestion  was  immediately  adopted,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  some  £10 
ox  £\2  was  collected.  On  his  return  to  London,  Mr.  Spurgeon  related  the  circum- 
stance to  some  of  his  congregation,  who  testified  their  appreciation  of  the  respect 
paid  to  their  Pastor  by  subscribing  a  further  sum  of  ^20  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Hertfordshire  farmer." 

I  believe  the  friends  at  Tring  were  pleased  with  the  service,  for,  not  long  after- 
wards, I  was  invited  to  go  there  again,  to  preach  the  Sunday-school  anniversary 
sermons.  This  was,  I  think,  at  one  of  the  other  Baptist  chapels  in  the  town.  I 
addressed  the  children  in  the  afternoon,  and  preached  to  the  adults  in  the  evening. 
At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  service,  some  of  the  Hyper-Calvinist  friends,  who  had 
been  present,  found  fault  with  what  they  called  my  unsound  teaching.  The  Holy 
Spirit  had  very  graciously  helped  me  in  speaking  to  the  many  young  people  who  were 
gathered  together,  and  I  believe  that  some  of  them  were  brought  to  the  Saviour  ;  but, 
among  other  things,  I  had  said  to  them  that  God  had  answered  my  prayers  while  I 
was  a  child,  and  before  I  was  converted.  That  was  certainly  true,  for,  on  many 
occasions,  long  before  I  knew  the  Lord,  I  had  gone  to  Him  with  my  childish 
petitions,  and  He  had  given  me  what  I  had  asked  of  Him.  I  told  the  children  that 
this  fact  had  greatly  impressed  me  while  I  was  a  boy,  and  it  led  me  to  believe  more 
firmly  in  God's  overruling  power,  and  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  I  urged  them  also 
to  pray  to  Him.  This  gave  great  offence  to  my  critics,  so  five  or  si.x  of  those 
grave  old  men  gathered  round  me,  and  tried  to  set  me  right  in  their  peculiar  lashion. 
Did  I  not  know  that  the  Scripture  declared  that  "  the  prayer  of  a  sinner  is  abomina- 
tion unto  the  Lord  "  ^  That  is  a  sentence  which  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  in 
my  Bible,  and  I  told  them  so.  Then  they  asked,  "  How  can  a  dead  man  pray  ?"  I 
could  not  tell,  but  I  knew  that  /  prayed  even  while  I  was  "  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins."  They  said  that  it  was  impossible  ;  but  I  was  equally  positive  that  it  could  be 
done,  for  I  had  done  it.  They  still  maintained  that  it  was  not  sound  doctrine,  and 
that  God  did  not  hear  the  prayers  of  sinners.  There  was  quite  a  little  ring  formed 
around  me,  and  I  did  my  best  to  answer  the  objections  ;  but,  after  all,  the  victory  was 
won,  not  by  Barak,  but  by  Deborah.  A  very  old  woman,  in  a  red  cloak,  managed  to 
squeeze  herself  into  the  circle,  and  turning  to  my  accusers,  she  said,  "What  are  \"OU 
battlmg  about  with  this  young  man  ?  You  say  that  God  does  not  hear  the  prayers 
of  unconverted  people,  that  He  hears  no  cry  but  that  of  His  own  children.  What 
do  vou  know  about  the  Scriptures  ?  Your  precious  passage  is  not  in  the  Bible  at  all, 
but  the  psalmist  did  say,  '  He  giveth  to  the  beast  his  food,  and  to  the  young  ravens 
which  cry'  (Psalm  c.xlvii.  9).  Is  there  any  grace  in  them  ?  If  God  hears  the  cry  of 
the  ravens,  don't  you  think  He  will  hear  the  prayers  of  those  who  are  made  in  His 
own  image  ?     You  don't  know  anything  at  all  about  the  matter,  so  leave  the  young 


86  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

man  alone,  and  let  him  go  on  with  his  Master's  work."  After  that  vigorous  speech, 
my  opponents  quickly  vanished,  and  I  walked  away  in  happy  conversation  with  the 
dear  old  soul  who  had  so  wisely  delivered  me  from  the  cavillers. 

I  had  quite  a  different  experience  on  the  occasion  when  I  went  to  preach  at 
Haverhill,  in  Suffolk.  The  congregation  that  day  had  the  somewhat  unusual  privilege, 
or  affliction,  of  listening  to  two  preachers  discoursing  by  turns  upon  the  same  text! 
The  passage  was  that  grand  declaration  of  the  apostle  Paul,  "  For  by  grace  are  ye 
saved  through  faith  ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves  :  it  is  the  gift  of  God  "  (Ephesians 
ii.  S).  It  does  not  often  happen  to  me  to  be  late  for  service,  for  I  feel  that  punctuality 
is  one  of  those  little  virtues  which  may  prevent  great  sins.  But  we  have  no  control 
over  railways  and  breakdowns  ;  and  so  it  happened  that  I  reached  the  appointed  place 
considerably  behind  time.  Like  sensible  people,  they  had  begun  their  worship,  and 
had  proceeded  as  far  as  the  sermon.  As  I  neared  the  chapel,  I  perceived  that 
someone  was  in  the  pulpit  preaching,  and  who  should  the  preacher  be  but  my  dear 
and  venerable  grandfather  !  He  saw  me  as  I  came  in  at  the  front  door,  and  made 
my  way  up  the  aisle,  and  at  once  he  said,  "  Here  comes  my  grandson  !  He  may 
preach  the  gospel  better  than  I  can,  but  he  carmot  preach  a  better  gospel  ;  can 
you,  Charles?"  As  I  pressed  through  the  throng,  I  answered,  "You  can  preach 
better  than  I  can.  Pray  go  on."  But  he  would  not  agree  to  that.  I  must  take  the 
sermon,  and  so  I  did,  going  on  with  the  subject  there  and  then,  just  where  he  left  oft. 
"  There,"  said  he,  "  I  was  preaching  on  '  For  by  grace  are  ye  saved.'  I  have  been 
setting  forth  the  source  and  fountain-head  of  salvation  ;  and  I  am  now  showing  them 
the  channel  of  it,  'through  faith.'      Now,  you  take  it  up,  and  go  on." 

I  am  so  much  at  home  with  these  glorious  truths,  that  I  could  not  feel  any 
difficulty  in  taking  from  my  grandfather  the  thread  of  his  discc  urse,  and  joining  my 
thread  to  it,  so  as  to  continue  without  a  break.  Our  agreement  in  the  things  of  God 
made  it  easy  for  us  to  be  joint-preachers  of  the  same  discourse.  I  went  on  with 
"  through  faith,"  and  then  I  proceeded  to  the  next  point,  "  and  that  not  of  yourselves.'' 
Upon  this,  I  was  explaining  the  weakness  and  inability  of  human  nature,  and  the  cer- 
tainty that  salvation  could  not  be  of  ourselves,  when  I  had  my  coat-tail  pulled,  and  my 
well-beloved  grandsire  took  his  turn  again.  When  I  spoke  of  our  depraved  human 
nature,  the  good  old  man  said,  "  I  know  most  about  that,  dear  friends  ;  "  so  he  took 
up  the  parable,  and  for  the  next  five  minutes  set  forth  a  solemn  and  humbling  descrip- 
tion of  our  lost  estate,  the  depravity  of  our  nature,  and  the  spiritual  death  under  which 
we  were  found.  When  he  had  said  his  say  in  a  very  gracious  manner,  his  grandson 
was  allowed  to  go  on  again,  to  the  dear  old  man's  great  delight  ;  for  now  and  then 
he  would  say,  in  a  gentle  tone,  "Good!  Good!"  Once  he  said,  "Tell  them  that 
again,  Charles,'   and  of  course  I  did  tell  them  that  again.      It  wasahappy  exercise  to 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiograpuv.  87 

me  to  take  my  share  in  bearing  witness  to  truths  of  such  vital  importance,  which 
are  so  deeply  impressed  upon  my  heart.  Whenever  I  read  this  text,  I  seem  to  hear 
that  dear  voice,  which  has  been  so  long  lost  to  earth,  saying-  to  me,  "  Tell  them 
THAT  AGAIN."  I  am  uot  Contradicting  the  testimony  of  forefathers  who  are  now  with 
God.  If  my  grandfather  could  return  to  earth,  he  would  find  me  where  he  left  me, 
steadfast  in  the  faith,  and  true  to  that  form  of  doctrine  which  was  once  for  all 
delivered  to  the  saints.  I  preach  the  doctrines  of  grace  because  I  believe  them  to  be 
true  ;  because  I  see  them  in  the  Scriptures  ;  because  my  experience  endears  them  to 
me  ;  and  because  I  see  the  holy  result  of  them  in  the  lives  of  believers.  I  confess 
they  are  none  the  less  dear  to  me  because  the  advanced  school  despises  them  :  their 
censures  are  to  me  a  commendation.  I  confess  also  that  I  should  never  think  the 
better  of  a  doctrine  because  it  was  said  to  be  "new."  Those  truths  which  have 
enlightened  so  many  ages  appear  to  me  to  be  ordained  to  remain  throughout 
eternity.  The  doctrine  which  I  preach  is  that  of  the  Puritans  :  it  is  the  doctrine  of 
Calvin,  the  doctrine  of  Augustine,  the  doctrine  of  Paul,  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith  Himself  taught  most  blessed  truth 
which  well  agreed  with  Paul's  declaration,  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved."  The  doctrine 
of  grace  is  the  substance  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 

Some  of  the  special  services  it  was  my  privilege  to  conduct  in  London,  in  those 
long-past  days,  remain  in  m)-  memory  with  great  vividness.  The  first  time  I  was 
asked  to  preach  at  one  of  the  representative  gatherings  of  the  denomination  was  on 
January  10,  1855,  when  the  annual  meetings  of  the  London  Association  of  Baptist 
Churches  were  held  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  which  was  crowded  both  afternoon 
and  evening,  to  the  manifest  astonishment  of  the  grave  and  venerable  ministers  and 
delegates  who  had  usually  met  on  such  occasions  in  much  smaller  numbers.  My 
subject  was,  "The  Holy  War,"  the  text  being  2  Cor.  x.  4:  "For  the  weapons  of 
our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong 
holds."  Rev.  Thomas  Binney,  of  the  Weigh  House  Chapel,  near  the  Monument, 
was  in  the  congregation  that  afternoon,  and  as  he  walked  away,  one  of  our  friends 
heard  him  say,  concerning  the  service,  "  It  is  an  insult  to  God  and  man  ;  I  never 
heard  such  things  in  my  life  before."  Our  brother  was  so  indignant  that  he  turned 
to  him,  and  said,  "  The  man  who  can  speak  like  that  of  a  young  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  one  ot  whom  I  shall  be  ashamed  as  long  as  I  live,  unless  he  repents  having 
uttered  such  unkind  remarks."  I  know  this  story  is  true,  for  I  had  it  from  the  lips 
of  the  good  man  himself  Many  years  afterwards,  he  was  again  in  Mr.  Binney's 
company,  so  he  reminded  him  of  the  incident  ;  and  our  friend  told  me  that  no  one 
could  have  spoken  of  me  with  more  intense  and  hearty  esteem  than  did  the  venerable 
man  at  that  time.      "But."  he  added,   "you   know,  my  dear  sir,  that  your  minister 


88  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

has  greatly  improved  since  those  early  days.  I  very  soon  found  out  my  mistake,  and 
you  may  depend  upon  it  that  my  sentiments  with  regard  to  Mr.  Spurgeon  are 
completely  changed.  I  did  not  at  all  blame  you  for  rebuking  me  as  you  did  ;  I  only 
wish  I  had  as  many  friends  to  stick  to  me,  and  speak  up  for  me,  as  your  minister  has 
always  had.  If  I  ever  said  anything  against  him,  I  might  just  as  well  have  pulled 
down  a  skep  of  bees  about  my  head  ;  but  now  I  have  no  feeling  towards  him  but  that 
of  the  utmost  regard  and  affection."     I  also  know  that,  long  before  this  confession, 


REV.    THOMAS     BINNEY,    LL.D. 


Mr.  Binney,  while  addressing  the  students  of  one  of  the  Congregational  Colleges, 
had  said,  in  reply  to  some  disparaging  remarks  concerning  me  which  he  had  over- 
heard : — "  I  have  enjoyed  some  amount  of  popularity,  I  have  always  been  able  to 
draw  together  a  congregation  ;  but,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  we  see  a  young 
man,  be  he  who  he  may,  and  come  whence  he  will,  who  at  twenty-four  hours'  notice 
can  command  a  congregation  of  twenty  thousand  people.  Now,  I  have  never  been 
able  to  do  that,  and  I  never  knew  of  anyone  else  who  could  do  it." 


The  Freeman  thus  reported  the  meetings  of  the  day  : — 

"  London  Baptist  Associ.\tion. — Whatever  reason  may  be  assigned  for  the  fact, 
it  is  certain  that  an  Association  meeting  in  London  is  very  different  from  one  in  the 
country.     Perhaps  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  several  churches  meet  so  often 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  89 

that  an  annual  gathering  is  no  novelty  ;  perhaps  the  walk  through  London  streets,  or 
the  jolt  in  an  omnibus  or  cab,  has  fewer  attractions  than  the  Whitsuntide  jaunt  by 
railroad  or  pleasant  country  lane  ;  or  perhaps  the  thing  has  escaped  due  attention 
amid  the  throng  of  metropolitan  claims  ; — but  certain  it  is,  that  the  London  Par- 
ticular Baptist  Association,  holding,  as  it  does,  from  a  sense  of  duty,  a  meeting  every 
year,  has  only  given  generally  the  impression  of  being  a  somewhat  dull  affair. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  enlivening  either  to  preacher  or  hearer  to  find  one's  self  in  New 
Park  Street  Chapel  with  a  congregation  of  seventy  people,  on  a  January  week-da\ 
afternoon  ! 

"  This  year,  we  are  bound  to  say,  all  was  different.  The  popularity  of  the 
Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  the  recently-settled  Pastor  at  New  Park  Street,  attracted 
a  crowded  audience  on  the  afternoon  of  the  loth  instant.  The  metropolitan  churches 
of  the  denomination  appeared  tor  the  most  part  well  represented,  the  only  noticeable 
e.xception  being  the  absence  of  several  leading  ministers,  owing,  as  was  explained, 
to  the  Quarterly  Mission  Committee  being  holden,  by  some  mischance  which  will 
probably  not  occur  again,  upon  the  same  day.  The  preacher  treated  with  much 
earnestness  on  the  '  strongholds  '  of  the  evil  one  that  we  are  called  to  subdue,  and 
on  'the  weapons  of  our  warfare,'  which  are  'mighty  through  God'  to  the  task.  The 
vigour  and  originality  of  the  sermon,  we  cannot  forljear  remarking,  sufficiently 
accounted  to  us  for  the  popularity  ot  the  youthful  preacher,  and  indicated  powers 
which,  with  due  culture,  may  by  the  Divine  blessing  greatly  and  usefully  serve  the 
Church  in  days  to  come.  A  very  large  company  remained  in  the  chapel  to  tea,  and 
in  the  evening  the  place  was  thronged  to  overflowing  for  the  public  meeting, — which, 
however,  was  not  distinguished  by  any  feature  worthy  of  remark,  save  the  delivery 
of  two  or  three  brief,  simple.  Evangelical  addresses.  It  appears  that  many  churches 
in  London  are  not  connected  with  the  Association,  and  of  those  which  are,  several 
sent  no  reports  No  complete  statistics,  therefore,  could  be  presented.  Of  those 
churches  from  which  letters  were  read,  most  seemed  stationary, — some  were 
prosperous.     The  accounts,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  were  quite  equal  to  the  average." 


90 


C.      H.      SPURGEON's     AUTOBIOGRAI'IIV. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 


"hx  2.abours  filoit  ^Ijunbaut"  (Co^^/nrncdj. 

UR  first  sojourn  at  Exeter  Hall,  from  February  ii  to  May  27,  1855, 
like  the  later  assemblies  in  that  historic  building,  was  one  long 
series  of  "special"  services,  which  gave  the  church  at  New  Park 
Street  a  position  it  had  not  previously  attained.  The  simple 
record  in  our  church-book  scarcely  conveys  an  adequate  idea  of 
the  importance  of  the  "forward  movement"  that  was  about  to  be 
inaugurated  : — 

"  Our  Pastor  announced  from  the  pulpit  that  our  place  of  worship  would  be 
closed  for  enlargement  for  the  eight  following  Lord's-days,  during  which  period  the 
church  and  congregation  would  worship  in  the  large  room  at  Exeter  Hall,  Strand, 
on  Lord's-days,  morning  and  evening,  and  that  accommodation  had  also  been 
provided  for  the  usual  week-evening  services  to  be  held  at  Maze  Pond  Chapel." 

The  following  paragraph,  published  in  T/ie  Globe,  March  22,  was  extensively 
copied  into  other  papers  ;  and  the  comments  upon  it,  both  favourable  and  otherwise, 
helped  still  further  to  attract  public  attention  to  our  services  : — 

"  The  circumstances  under  which  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  has  recently  come 
before  the  public  are  curious,  and  demand  a  passing  notice.  Some  months  since,  he 
became  minister  of  New  Park  Street  Chapel  ;  and  it  was  soon  found  that  the 
building,  capacious  as  it  was,  was  far  too  small  to  accommodate  the  crowds  of 
persons  who  flocked  to  hear  the  young  and  eloquent  divine.  In  this  state  of  affairs, 
there  was  no  alternati\-e  but  to  enlarge  the  chapel  ;  and  while  this  process  was  going 
on,  Exeter  Hall  was  engaged  for  him.  For  some  weeks  past,  he  has  been  preaching 
there  every  Sunday  morning  and  evening  ;  but  he  has  filled  the  great  hall,  just  as 
easily  as  he  filled  New  Park  Street  Chapel.  A  traveller  along  the  Strand,  about  six 
o'clock  on  a  Sunday  evening,  would  wonder  what  could  be  the  meaning  of  a  crowd 
which  literally  stopped  the  progress  of  public  vehicles,  and  sent  unhappy  pedestrians 
round  the  by-streets,  in  utter  hopelessness  of  getting  along  the  wider  thoroughfare. 
Since  the  days  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield, — whose  honoured  names  seem  to  be  in 
danger  of  being  thrown  into  the  shade  by  this  new  candidate  for  public  honours, — 
so  thorough  a  religious  furor  has  never  existed.  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  likely  to  become 
a  great  preacher  ;  at  present,  his  fervid  and  impassioned  eloquence  sometimes  leads 
him  a  little  astray,  and  sometimes  there  is  a  want  of  solemnity,  which  mars  the 
beauty  of  his  singularly  happy  style." 


92  C.     H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

Before  we  had  completed  the  two  months  for  which  we  had  engaged  Exeter 
Hall,  we  found  that  it  was  advisable  to  continue  there  for  eight  more  Sabbaths 
(making  sixteen  in  all).  Our  return  to  our  own  chapel  is  thus  recorded  in  the 
church-book  : — 

"The  meeting-house  in  New  Park  Street  was  re-opened,  after  the  enlargement, 
on  Thursday,  May  31st,  1855,  when  two  sermons  were  preached,  that  in  the  forenoon 
by  the  Rev.  James  Sherman,  of  Blackheath,  and  that  in  the  evening  by  our  Pastor." 

It  was  a  very  wet  day,  and,  although  I  am  not  a  believer  in  omens,  I  told  the 
people  that  I  regarded  it  as  a  prognostication  ot  the  "  showers  of  blessing  "  we  hoped 
to  receive  in  the  enlarged  building ;  and  that,  as  it  had  rained  literally  at  the 
re-opening  services,  I  prayed  that  we  might  have  the  rain  spiritually  as  long  as  we 
worshipped  there.  To  the  glory  of  God,  I  am  grateful  to  testify  that  it  was  so. 
I  also  quoted  to  the  crowded  congregation  Malachi  iii.  10, — "  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes 
into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in  Mine  house,  and  prove  Me  now 
herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it ;  " — and 
reminded  the  friends  that,  if  they  wished  to  have  the  promised  blessing,  they  must 
comply  with  the  condition  attached  to  it.  This  they  were  quite  ready  to  do,  and 
from  the  time  of  our  return  to  our  much-loved  sanctuary  until  the  day  when  we 
finally  left  it,  we  never  had  "  room  enough  to  receive"  the  blessings  which  the  Lord 
so  copiously  poured  out  for  us. 

There  were  two  evenings — June  22,  and  September  4,  1855, — when  I  preached 
in  the  open  air  in  a  field  in  King  Edward's  Road,  Hackney.  On  the  first  occasion,* 
I  had  the  largest  congregation  I  had  ever  addressed  up  to  that  time,  but  at  the  next 
service  the  crowd  was  still  greater,  f      By  careful   calculation,   it  was  estimated  that 

*  This  was  the  service  which  is  referred  to  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  letter  on  page  21.  Readers  may  be  interested  in  knowing  that 
the  discourse  then  delivered  is  published  by  Messrs.  Passmore  &  Alabaster  in  their  series  of  "  Rare  Jewels  from  Spurgeon."  It  is 
entitled.  "  Christ  is  All."  The  Clerkenwell  News,  in  an  appreciative  account  of  the  service  and  the  preacher,  said :— ■'  His  discourse, 
which  was  bold,  imaginative,  and  abounding  in  felicitous  and  appropriate  metaphors,  was  listened  to  with  the  most  profound 
attention, — a  distinction  rarely  shown  to  open-air  preaching." 

t  The  text  on  the  s?cond  occasion  was  Matthew  viii.  11,  12;  and  the  sermon  was  printed  in  The  New  Park  Street  Pulpit 
(Nos.  39-40),  under  the  title,  "Heaven  and  Hell."  Translations  were  published  in  various  languages,  including  Russian  and 
French.  Copies  of  the  Russian  version  reached  Mr.  Spurgeon  from  time  to  time,  each  one  bearing  on  its  front  cover  the  "  Alpha 
and  Omega  "  in  the  centre  of  the  official  stamp  certifying  that  it  might  be  read  and  circulated  by  faithful  members  of  the  Greek 
Church;  on  the  back,  was  a  list  of -nine  more  of  the  sermons  issued  by  the  same  publisher.  As  soon  as  the  permission  of  the  censor 
had  been  obtained,  the  gentleman  who  had  sought  it  ordered  a  million  copies  of  the  sermons  to  be  printed,  and  scattered  over  the 
Russian  Empire.  "  That  day  "  alone  will  reveal  how  many  souls  have  been  saved  through  this  method  of  spreading  the  truth  in 
that  dark  region.  A  copy  of  the  French  translation  was  recently  received  by  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  from  M.  Robert  Dubarry,  one  of  the 
French  students  in  the  Pastors'  College,  who  found  it  a  few  years  ago  in  a  Parisian  hospital,  where  it  had  been  left  by  a  former 
patient,  who  had  evidently  been  greatly  benefited  by  reading  it.  The  margin  is  almost  covered  with  a  most  elaborate  system  of 
marks,  and  the  discourse  itself  is  underlined  as  though  every  word  had  been  read  and  pondered  again  and  again.  At  the  end  is 
written,  in  French  :—"  A  Souvenir  for  my  children!  Sunday,  3rd  June,  i860.  Lord,  grant  that  this  worthy  and  true  sermon  may 
become  to  them  a  salutary  and  precious  blessing,  and  that  it  may  remind  them  of  their  mother  !  "  The  beloved  preacher  had  many 
similar  testimonies  to  the  usefulness  of  his  words  when  translated  into  foreign  tongues,  although  he  was  not  spared  to  see  this  one, 
which  would  have  greatly  interested  him. 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY.  9 ;• 

from  twelve  to  fourteen  thousand  persons  were  present.  I  think  I  shall  never  forget 
the  impression  I  received  when,  before  we  separated,  that  vast  multitude  joined  in 
singing — 

"  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

That  night,  I  could  understand  better  than  ever  before  why  the  apostle  John,  in  the 
Revelation,  compared  the  "  new  song  "  in  Heaven  to  "  the  voice  of  many  waters." 
In  that  glorious  hallelujah,  the  mighty  waves  of  praise  seemed  to  roll  up  towards  the 
sky,  in  majestic  grandeur,  even  as  the  billows  of  old  ocean  break  upon  the  beach. 

Among  the  notable  gatherings  in  various  provincial  towns,  my  visit  to  Trow- 
bridge has  a  special  interest  because  of  the  singularity  of  an  extra  service  that  was 
crowded  into  my  programme.  I  had  promised  to  preach  in  one  place  of  worship  in  the 
afternoon  and  evening  of  Monday,  April  7,  1856,  and  in  another  chapel  the  following 
morning.  At  both  the  services  on  the  Monday,  the  building  was  densely  packed, 
and  hundreds  had  to  go  away,  unable  to  gain  admission,  so  I  offered  to  preach  again 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night  if  the  friends  could  make  it  known,  and  bring  in  a  fresh 
congregation.  Many  remained  after  the  first  evening  service,  and  before  the 
appointed  hour  others  came  in  such  numbers  that  the  place  was  again  crowded. 

That  was  a  memorable  night,  but  it  was  quite  eclipsed  by  another,  which  I 
spent  in  a  meeting-house  not  far  from  the  place  which  was  the  scene  of  the  terrible 
explosion  in  the  Risca  colliery  in  December,  i860.  That  charming  spot  in  South 
■  Wales  has  frequently  yielded  me  a  quiet  and  delightful  retreat.  Beautiful  for 
situation,  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains,  pierced  by  romantic  valleys,  the  breathing 
of  its  air  refreshes  the  body,  and  the  sight  of  the  eyes  makes  glad  the  heart.  I 
have  climbed  its  hills,  I  have  seen  the  ever-widening  landscape,  the  mountains 
of  Wales,  the  plains  of  England,  and  the  sea  sparkling  afar.  I  have  mingled  with 
its  godly  men  and  women,  and  worshipped  God  in  their  assemblies.  I  have 
been  fired  with  the  glorious  enthusiasm  of  the  people  when  they  have  listened 
to  the  Word  ;  but  that  night  I  shall  never  forget  in  time  or  in  eternity,  when, 
crowded  together  in  the  place  of  worship,  hearty  Welsh  miners  responded  to  every 
word  I  uttered,  with  their  "  Gogoniants "  encouraging  me  to  preach  the  gospel, 
and  crying  "  Glory  to  God  !  "  while  the  message  was  proclaimed.  They  kept  me 
well-nigh  to  midnight,  preaching  three  sermons,  one  after  another,  almost  without 
a  break,  for  they  loved  to  listen  to  the  gospel.  God  was  present  with  us,  and 
many  a  time  has  the  baptismal  pool  been  stirred  since  then  by  the  fruit  of  that 
night's  labour. 

Nor  shall  I  ever  forget  when,  standing  in  the  open  air  beneath  God's  blue  sky, 
I  addressed  a  mighty  gathering  within  a  short  distance  of  that  same  place,  when  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  poured  upon  us,  and   men  and  women  were  swayed  to  and  fro 


94  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

under  the  Heavenly  message,  as  the  corn  is  moved  in  waves  by  the  summer  winds. 
Great  was  our  joy  that  day  when  the  people  met  together  in  thousands,  and  with 
songs  and  praises  separated  to  their  homes,  talking  of  what  they  had  heard. 

I  must  mention  the  visit  I  paid  to  Stambourne,  on  May  27,  1856,  when  I 
preached,  at  my  dear  grandfather's  request,  in  commemoration  of  his  ministerial 
jubilee.  He  had  then  been  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  at  Stambourne  for 
forty-six  years,  and  he  had  previously  been  minister  at  Clare,  in  Suffolk,  for  four 
years.  I  suppose  such  a  service  is  almost  uirique  ;  certainly,  I  have  no  recollection 
of  any  other  instance  in  which  a  grandson  has  had  the  privilege  of  preaching  for 
his  grandfather  under  similar  circumstances,  and  I  bless  God  that  this  was  my  happy 
lot.  On  the  previous  Sabbath  morning,  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  I  delivered 
substantially  the  same  discourse  from  Isaiah  xlvi.  4,  and  it  was  published  under  the 
title,  "The  God  of  the  Aged"  (Nos.  81-2).  Some  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand 
persons  assembled  at  Stambourne  for  the  celebration  ;  and  to  accommodate  them,  a 
large  covered  space  was  extemporized  by  the  use  of  a  barn,  and  tents,  and  tarpaulins. 
The  proceedings  were,  naturally,  full  of  interest.  iNIy  venerable  friend.  Rev. 
Benjamin  Beddow,  who  assisted  me  in  the  compilation  of  Memories  of  Stauiboiuiie, 
has  recorded  the  following  incident  which,  otherwise,  I  might  have  forgotten  : — 

"In  the  afternoon,  Mr.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  made  some  allusions  to  Thomas 
Binney's  volume,  Hozv  to  make  the  best  of  both  ivor/ets,  and  expressed  his  opinion 
that  no  man  could  serve  two  masters,  or  live  for  more  than  one  world.  The  ardent 
spirit  of  a  Congregationalist  minister  was  aroused,  and  he  interrupted  the  speaker. 
This  was  a  mistake  ;  but  though  it  raised  discussion,  it  produced  no  result  upon  the 
evening  congregation,  which  was  as  thronged  and  as  enthusiastic  as  that  which 
preceded  it.  We  only  refer  to  it  for  the  Sake  of  the  sequel  to  the  anecdote.  Years 
after,  the  gentleman  who  interrupted  had  such  an  opinion  of  C.  H.  Spurgeon  that, 
in  a  very  kind  and  genial  letter,  he  reminded  him  of  the  incident,  and  asking  for  a 
sermon  from  him,  pressed  the  request  by  quoting  the  old  saying  about  Cranmer,  '  If 
you  do  my  Lord  of  Canterbury  an  ill  turn,  he  will  be  your  friend  all  the  days  of 
your  life.'  At  that  time  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  C.  H.  Spurgeon  to  grant  the 
request,  for  the  season  had  long  been  promised  to  others  ;  but  he  felt  that  he  would 
right  gladly  have  done  so  had  it  been  within  the  region  of  the  possible. 

"  Great  were  the  crowds  of  that  day  :  very  busy  were  all  the  ladies  of  the  region 
in  making  tea,  and  very  liberal  were  the  gifts.  The  venerable  old  man,  whose 
ministerial  jubilee  was  thus  celebrated,  seemed  to  feel  rather  the  weight  of  the  years 
than  any  special  exhilaration  because  of  their  having  reached  to  fifty.  Within  himself 
he  held  a  quiet  jubilee  of  rest,  which  the  world  could  neither  give  nor  take  away." 

My  experiences  in  those  early  years  were  very  varied,  and  some  of  them  were  so 


C.     11.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHV.  95 

singular  that  I  cannot  easily  forget  them.  At  one  place,  I  was  preaching  to  a 
great  crowd  of  people,  and  during  the  sermon  many  in  the  congregation  were 
visibly  affected.  I  felt  that  the  power  of  the  Lord  was  working  there  very 
manifestly ;  one  poor  creature  absolutely  shrieked  out  because  ot  the  wrath  ot 
God  against  sin. 

On  another  occasion,  I  had  scarcely  finished  my  discourse,  when  a  Christian 
woman,  who  had  been  listening  to  it,  dropped  dead  in  her  pew.  That  was  at  a 
village  in  Kent.  Not  very  long  afterwards,  I  went  to  Tollesbury,  in  Essex,  to 
preach  on  a  week-day  afternoon  on  behalf  of  the  Sunday-school  at  my  father's  chapel. 
There  was  a  large  assembly  of  friends  from  the  surrounding  district  ;  and  at  the 
close  of  the  service,  tea  was  provided  for  them  in  a  tent.  Before  they  had  finished, 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  deacons  was  seized  with  a  fit,  and  died  in  a  few  minutes.  I  had 
not  arranged  to  preach  in  the  evening  ;  but,  under  the  circumstances,  I  did  so,  taking 
for  my  text  Paul's  words,  "  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  " 

An  old  countryman  once  came  to  me,  after  a  service,  and  said,  "  .\h  !  young 
man,  you  have  had  too  deep  a  text  ;  you  handled  it  well  enough,  but  that  is  an  old 
man's  text,  and  I  felt  afraid  to  hear  you  announce  it."  I  replied,  "  Is  God's  truth 
dependent  on  age.-'  If  the  thing  is  true,  it  is  just  as  well  to  hear  it  from  me  as  from 
anyone  else  ;  but  if  you  can  hear  it  better  anywhere  else,  you  have  the  opportunity." 

I  recollect  one  hearer  that  I  had  of  quite  a  different  sort.  Preaching  about  in 
the  country,  I  had  often  ncTticed,  in  a  certain  county,  a  man  in  a  smock  frock  who  was 
a  regular  follower.  He  seemed  to  be  amazingly  attentive  to  the  service,  and  thinking 
that  he  looked  an  extremely  poor  man,  I  one  day  gave  him  five  shillings.  When  I 
preached  twenty  miles  off,  there  he  was  again,  and  I  gave  him  some  more  help, 
fancying  that  he  was  a  tried  child  of  God.  W  hen  I  was  preaching  in  another  place 
in  the  same  county,  there  he  was  again  ;  and  the  thought  suddenly  occurred  to 
me,  "  That  man  finds  something  more  attractive  in  the  palms  of  my  hands  than  in 
the  words  of  my  lips," — so  I  gave  him  no  more.  The  next  time  I  saw  him,  he  put 
himself  in  my  way,  but  I  avoided  him  ;  and  then,  at  last,  being  again  in  the  same 
county,  he  came  up,  and  asked  me  to  give  him  something.  "  No,"  I  said,  "you  will 
have  no  more  from  me  ;  I  see  why  you  have  come  ;  you  have  followed  me,  pretending 
to  delight  in  the  Word,  and  to  be  profited  by  it,  whereas  it  is  profit  you  get  out  of 
me,  not  profit  from  the  gospel." 

In  another  part  of  the  country,  I  was  preaching  once  to  people  who  kept 
continually  looking  round,  and  I  adopted  the  expedient  of  saying,  "  Now,  friends, 
as  it  is  so  very  interesting  to  you  to  know  who  comes  in,  and  it  disturbs  me  so  very 
much  for  you  to  look  round,  I  will,  if  you  like,  describe  each  one  as  he  comes  in,  so 
that  you  may  sit  and  look  at  me,  and  keep  up  at  least  a  show  of  decency."  I 
described  one  gentleman  who  came  in,  who  happened  to  be  a  friend  whom  I  could 


96  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

depict  without  offence,  as  "a  very  respectable  gentleman  who  had  just  taken  his  hat 
oft,"  and  so  on  ;  and  after  that  one  attempt  I  found  it  was  not  necessary  to  describe 
any  more,  because  they  felt  shocked  at  what  I  was  doing,  and  I  assured  them  that  I 
was  much  more  shocked  that  they  should  render  it  necessary  for  me  to  reduce  their 
conduct  to  such  an  absurdity.  It  cured  them  for  the  time  being,  and  I  hope  for  ever, 
much  to  their  pastor's  joy. 

On  one  of  my  many  early  journeys  by  the  Eastern  Counties  Railway, — as  the 
G.E.R.  was  then  called, — I  had  a  sirgular  adventure,  upon  which  I  have  often  looked 
back  with  pleasurable  recollections.  I  had  been  into  the  country  to  preach,  and  was 
returning  to  London.  All  at  once,  I  discovered  that  my  ticket  was  gone  ;  and  a 
gentleman — the  only  other  occupant  of  the  compartment, — noticing  that  I  was 
fumbling  about  in  my  pockets  as  though  in  search  of  something  I  could  not  find,  said 
to  me,  "  I  hope  you  have  not  lost  anything,  sir  .-^ "  I  thanked  him,  and  told  him  that 
it  was  my  ticket  that  was  missing,  and  that,  by  a  remarkable  coincidence,  I  had 
neither  watch  nor  money  with  me.  I  seldom  wear  a  watch,  and  probably  the  brother 
whom  I  had  gone  to  help  had  seemed  to  me  in  need  of  any  coin  that  I  might  have 
had  in  my  possession  before  I  started  on  my  homeward  journey.  "  But,"  I  added, 
"  I  am  not  at  all  troubled,  for  I  have  been  on  my  Master's  business,  and  I  am  quite 
sure  all  will  be  well.  I  have  had  so  many  interpositions  of  Divine  providence,  in 
small  matters  as  well  as  great  ones,  that  I  feel  as  if  whatever  happens  to  me,  I  am 
bound  to  fall  on  my  feet,  like  the  man  on  the  Manx  penny."  The  gentleman  seemed 
interested,  and  said  that  no  doubt  it  would  be  all  right,  and  we  had  a  very  pleasant, 
and,  I  hope,  profitable  conversation  until  the  train  had  nearly  reached  Bishopsgate 
Station,  and  the  collectors  came  for  the  tickets.  As  the  official  opened  the  door  of 
our  compartment,  he  touched  his  hat  to  my  travelling  companion,  who  simply  said, 
"All  right,  William  !  "  whereupon  the  man  again  saluted,  and  retired.  After  he  had 
gone,  I  said  to  the  gentleman,  "  It  is  very  strange  that  the  collector  did  not  ask  for 
my  ticket."  "  No,  Mr.  Spurgeon,"  he  replied, — calling  me  by  my  name  for  the  first 
time, — •"  it  is  only  another  illustration  of  what  you  told  me  about  the  providence  of 
God  watching  over  you  even  in  little  things  ;  I  am  the  General  Manager  of  this  line, 
and  it  was  no  doubt  Divinely  arranged  that  I  should  happen  to  be  your  companion 
just  when  I  could  be  of  service  to  you.  I  knew  you  were  all  right,  and  it  has  been  a 
great  pleasure  to  meet  you  under  such  happy  circumstances." 

A  somewhat  similar  instance  of  the  presence  of  "  a  friend  in  need  "  occurred  at  a 
later  period  of  my  life,  but  it  follows  so  appropriately  upon  the  previous  one  that  it 
may  as  well  be  related  here.  I  was  going  to  preach  somewhere  in  the  North  of 
London  ;  and  to  reach  my  destination,  I  had  to  pass  through  the  City.  When  I  was 
in  Princes   Street,  near  the  Bank,  my  horse  fell,  some  of  the  harness  gave  way,  and 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S    AUTOBIOGRAPHY  97 

one  of  the  shafts  of  the  carriage  was  broken.  Almost  at  the  instant  that  the  accident 
happened,  a  hand  was  thrust  in  at  the  window,  and  the  owner  of  it  gave  me  his  card, 
and  said,  "  I  know  where  you  are  going,  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;  you  have  no  time  to  lose  in 
getting  to  the  chapel.  Take  a  cab,  and  go  on  about  your  Master's  business  ;  I'll 
stay  with  the  coachman,  and  see  what  can  be  done  with  the  horse  and  carriage."  I 
did  as  the  gentleman  suggested,  and  after  1  had  preached,  and  was  ready  to  return, 
there  was  the  carriage  at  the  chapel  door,  ready  for  me,  and  the  coachman  gave  me 
the  message  that  there  was  "nothing  to  pay."  I  wrote  to  thank  the  generous  friend 
for  his  timely  and  welcome  help  and  gift,  and  in  his  reply  he  said,  "  I  only  hope  that, 
next  time  your  horse  goes  down,  I  may  be  close  at  hand,  or  that  somebody  else  may 
be  there  who  will  feel  it  as  great  a  pleasure  to  be  of  service  to  you  as  I  have  done. 
You  do  not  know  me,  but  I  am  well  acquainted  with  one  of  your  deacons,  and 
through  him  I  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  you."  So  he  took  care  of  me  for  my 
deacon's  sake,  and  still  more  for  my  Lord's  sake  ;  and  many  and  many  a  time  have  I 
had  kindnesses  shown  to  me  by  those  who,  until  then,  had  been  complete  strangers 
to  me.  Other  people  may  not  think  much  of  such  incidents  ;  but  to  me  they  are 
intensely  interesting,  and  they  fill  me  with  adoring  gratitude  to  God. 


(The  following  letters,  written  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  his  very  intimate  friend, 
Mr.  J.  S.  Watts,  Regent  Street,  Cambridge, — to  whom  reference  was  made  in  Vol.  I., 
Chapter  XXII.,  of  the  Autobiography, — have  been  most  kindly  placed  at  Mrs. 
Spurgeon's  disposal  by  Miss  Watts  ;  they  record  the  young  Pastor's  experiences 
during  the  period  now  under  review,  and  throw  a  vivid  light  on  many  of  the  notable 
incidents  which  oc-curred  in  1854 — 1856  : — ) 

"  75,  Dover  Road, 

"August  25,  1854. 

"  My  Very  Dear  Friend, 

"  I  am  astonished  to  find  that  fame  has  become  so  inveterate  a  fabricator 

of  untruths,  for  I  assure  you  that  I  had  no  more  idea  of  coming  to  Cambridge  on 

Wednesday  than  of  being  dead  last  week. 

"  I  have  been,  this  week,  to  Tring,  in   Hertfordshire,  on  the  border  of  Bucks. 

I  have  climbed  the  goodly  hills,  dnd  seen  the  fair  vale  of  Aylesbury  below.      In  the 

morning,  I  startled  the  hare  from  her  form,  and  at  eve  talked  with  the  countless  stars. 

I  love  the  glades  and  dells,  the  hills  and  vales,  and  I  have  had  my  fill  of  them.     The 

week  before,  I  was  preaching  at  Ramsgate,  and  then  tarried  awhile  at  Margate,  and 

came  home  by  boat.      Kent  is  indeed  made  to  rejoice  in  her  God,  for  in  the  parts  I 

traversed  the  harvest  was  luxuriant,  and  all  seemed  thankful. 

G 


gS  C.     H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

"The  Crystal  Palace  is  likewise  a  favourite  haunt  of  mine  ;  I  shall  rejoice  to 
take  your  arm  one  day,  and  survey  its  beauties  with  you. 

"  Now  for  the  cause  at  New  Park  Street.  We  are  getting  on  too  fast.  Our 
harvest  is  too  rich  for  the  barn.  We  have  had  one  meeting  to  consider  an  enlarge- 
ment,— quite  unanimous  ; — meet  again  on  Wednesday,  and  then  a  committee  will  be 
chosen  immediately  to  provide  larger  accommodation.  On  Thursday  evenings, 
people  can  scarcely  find  a  vacant  seat, — 1  should  think  not  a  dozen  in  the  whole 
chapel.  On  Sabbath  days,  the;  crowd  is  immense,  and  seat-holders  cannot  get  into 
their  seats  ;  half-an-hour  before  time,  the  aisles  are  a  solid  block,  and  many  stand 
throuoh  the  whole  service,  wedged  in  by  their  fellows,  and  prevented  from  escaping 
by  the  crowd  outside,  who  seal  up  the  doors,  and  fill  the  yard  in  front,  and  stand  in 
throngs  as  far  as  the  sound  can  reach.  1  refer  mainly  to  the  evening,  although  the 
morning  is  nearly  the  same. 

"  Souls  are  being  saved.  I  have  more  enquirers  than  1  can  attend  to.  From 
six  to  seven  o'clock  on  Monday  and  Thursday  evenings,  I  spend  in  my  vestry  ;  I 
give  but  brief  interviews  then,  and  have  to  send  many  away  without  being  able  to 
see  them.  The  Lord  is  wondrous  in  praises.  A  friend  has,  in  a  letter,  expressed 
his  hope  that  my  initials  may  be  prophetic, — 

"C.  H.  S. 

"  Comfort.  Happiness.  Satisfaction. 

"  I  can  truly  say  they  are,  for  I  have  comfort  in  my  soul,  happiness  in  my  work, 
and  satisfaction  with  my  glorious  Lord.  I  am  deeply  in  debt  for  your  offer  of 
hospitality  ;  many  thanks  to  you.  My  kindest  regards  to  all  my  friends,  and  yours, 
especially  your  sons  and  daughters.  1  am  sure  it  gives  me  delight  to  be  remembered 
by  them,  and  1  hope  it  will  not  be  long  before  I  run  down  to  see  them.  Hoping 
you  will  be  blessed  in  going  out,  and  coming  in, 

"  I   am, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  C.    H.   Spurgeon." 


"  75,   Dover  Road, 

"Saturday  [Oct.  or  Nov.,  1854]. 

"  My   Dear  Friend, 

"  I  do  not  think  I  can  by  any  means  manage  to  see  you.  There  is 
just  a  bare  possibility  that  I  may  be  down  by  the  half- past-one  train  on  Monday 
morning  ;  but  do  not  prepare  for  me,  or  expect  me.  I  can  only  write  very  briefly 
to-day,  as  it  is  Saturday.  Congregations  as  crowded  as  ever.  Twenty-five  added 
to  the  church  last  month  ;  twelve  proposed  this  month.      Enlargement  of  chapel  to 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  99 

be  commenced  speedily.  ^1,000  required.  Only  one  meeting  held,  last  Friday 
evening,  £700  or  ^800  already  raised  ;  we  shall  have  more  than  enough.  I  gave 
^100  myself  to  start  the  people  off.  Friends  firm.  Enemies  alarmed.  Devil 
angry.  Sinners  saved.  Christ  exalted.  Self  not  well.  Enlargement  to  comprise 
300  seats  to  let,  and  300  free  sittings  ;  200  more  to  be  decided  on.  I  have  received 
anonymously  in  one  month  for  distribution,  £i'i  5s.,  and  have  given  it  to  poor 
Christians  and  sick  persons. 

"  Love   to   you   all.      Excuse   haste.      Forgot   to  say, — Prayer-meeting,    500  in 
regular  attendance.      Glory  to  the  Master  ! 

"  Yours  in  Jesus, 

"  C.    H.   Spurgeon." 


"75,   Dover  Road, 

"  March   23,    1S55. 

"  My   Dear   Friend  and  Brother, 

"  Often  have  I  looked  for  a  note  from  you,  but  I  have  not  reproached 
you,  for  I,  too,  have  been  negligent.  Really,  I  never  seem  to  have  an  hour  to  call 
my  own.  I  am  always  at  it,  and  the  people  are  teasing  me  almost  to  death  to  get 
me  to  let  them  hear  my  voice.  It  is  strange  that  such  a  power  should  be  in  one 
small  body  to  crowd  Exeter  Hall  to  suffocation,  and  block  up  the  Strand,  so  that 
pedestrians  have  to  turn  down  by-ways,  and  all  other  traffic  is  at  a  standstill. 

"  The  Globe,  of  last  evening,  says  that,  never  since  the  days  of  Whitefield 
was  there  such  a  religious  furor,  and  that  the  glories  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield 
seem  in  danger  of  being  thrown  into  the  shade.  Well,  the  press  has  kicked  me 
quite  long  enough,  now  they  are  beginning  to  lick  me  ;  but  one  is  as  good  as 
the  other  so  long  as  it  helps  to  fill  our  place  of  worship.  I  believe  I  could  secure 
a  crowded  audience  at  dead  of  night  in  a  deep  snow. 

"  On  Fast-day,  all  Falcon  Square  was  full, — police  active,  women  shrieking, — 
and  at  the  sight  of  me  the  rush  was  fearful.  .  .  .  Strange  to  say,  nine-tenths  of 
my  hearers  are  men ;  but  one  reason  is,  that  ivomen  cannot  endure  the  awful 
pressure,  the  rending  of  clothes,  &c.,  &c.  I  have  heard  of  parties  coming  to  the 
hall,  from  ten  or  twelve  miles  distance,  being  there  half-an-hour  before  time,  and 
then  never  getting  so  much  as  near  the  door. 

^'  Dear  me,  how  little  satisfies  the  crowd  !  What  on  earth  are  other  preachers 
up  to,  when,  with  ten  times  the  talent,  they  are  snoring  along  with  prosy  sermons, 
and  sending  the  world  away  ?  The  reason  is,  I  believe,  they  do  not  know  what 
the  gospel  xs  ;  they  are  afraid  of  real  gospel  Calvinism,  and  therefore  the  Lord  does 
not  own   them. 


lOO  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGKArilY. 

"  And  now  for  spiritual  matters.  I  have  had  knocking  about  enough  to  kill  a 
dozen,  but  the  Lord  has  kept  me.  Somewhere  in  nubibus  there  lies  a  vast  mass  of 
nebnla  made  of  advice  given  to  me  by  friends, — most  of  it  about  humility.  Now, 
my  Master  is  the  only  one  who  can  humble  me.  My  pride  is  so  infernal  that  there 
is  not  a  man  on  earth  who  can  hold  it  in,  and  all  their  silly  attempts  are  futile  ;  but 
then  my  Master  can  do  it,  and  He  will.  Sometimes,  I  get  such  a  \aew  of  my  own 
insignificance  that  I  call  myself  all  the  fools  in  the  world  for  even  letting  pride  pass 
my  door  without  frowning  at  him.  I  am  now,  as  ever,  able  to  join  with  Paul  in 
saying,  '  Having  nothing",  and  yet  possessing  all  things.' 

"  Souls  are  being  converted,  and  flying  like  doves  to  their  windows.  The  saints 
are  more  zealous,  and  more  earnest  in  prayer. 

"  Many  of  the  man-made  parsons  are  mad,  and  revile  me  ;  but  many  others  are 
putting  the  steam  on,  for  this  is  not  the  time  to  sleep  in. 

"The  Lord  is  abroad.  The  enemy  trembles.  Mark  how  the  devil  roars  ; — see 
Era,  last  week,  a  theatrical  paper,  where  you  can  read  about  '  Exeter  Hall 
Theatre  '  linked  with  Drury  Lane,  Princess's,  &c.  Read  the  slander  in  Ipswich 
Express  and  the  London  Empire.     The  two  latter  have  made  an  apology. 

"  What  a  fool  the  devil  is  !  If  he  had  not  vilified  me,  I  should  not  have  had  so 
many  precious  souls  as  my  hearers. 

"  I  long  to  come  and  throw  one  of  my  bombs  into  Cambridge  ;  you  are  a 
sleepy  set,  and  want  an  explosion  to  wake  you.  (Here  omit  a  gentleman  whose 
initials  are  J.  S.  W.)  I  am  coming  on  Good  Friday  ;  is  your  house  still  the  Bishop's 
Hostel  ?  Of  course  it  is.  Now,  do  write  me  ;  I  love  you  as  much  as  ever,  and 
owe  you  a  vast  debt.      Why  not  come  and  see  me  ?      I  know  you  pray  for  me. 

"  'With  Christian  love  to  you,  and  kind  remembrances  to  all  your  family, 

"  I   am, 

"  Yours  ever  truly, 

"  C.   H.   Spurgeon." 


"75,  Dover  Road, 

"  Tuesday  [April,   1855]. 
"  Dear  Friend  and  Brother, 

"  (D."V.)  Thursday,  I  shall  be  with  you  at  1.30  by  the  mail  train.  1  shall 
be  glad  to  preach  in  St.  Andrew's  Street  Chapel,  but  shall  disappoint  you  all.  The 
people  are  silly  to  follow  me  so  much.  It  now  gets  worse.  Crowds  awful  on 
Sunday  last.  Collected  ^90  morning  and  evening  at  the  hall.  At  Shoreditch,  on 
Tuesday,  there  were  eight  or  nine  hundred  where  only  six  hundred  should  have  been 
admitted  ;    upon  personally  appealing   to   the    throng   outside,    disappointed   at    not 


C.      H.      SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  lOt 

getting  in,  most  of  them   dispersed,  and  allowed  the  rest  of  us  to  worship  as  well  as 
we  could  with  windows  open  to  let  those  hear  who  remained  outside. 

"  Joseph  is  still  shot  at  by  the  archers,  and  sorely  grieved  ;  (see  Baptist 
Reporter,  United  Presbyterian  Magazine,  Critic,  Christian  Neivs,  &c.,  with  a  lot  of 
small  fry  ;)  but  his  bow  abides  in  strength,  neither  does  he  tremble.  Oh,  my  dear 
brother,  envy  has  vexed  me  sorely  ; — scarcely  a  Baptist  minister  of  standing  will 
own  me  !  I  am  sick  of  man  ;  but  when  I  find  a  good  one,  I  love  him  all  the  better 
because  of  the  contrast  to  others. 

"  I  have  just  received  a  handsome  silver  inkstand,  bearing  this  inscription  : — 
'  Presented  to  Mr.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  by  J.  and  S.  Alldis,  as  a  token  of  sincere 
gratitude  to  him  as  the  instrument,  under  Almighty  God,  of  turning  them  from 
darkness  to  light,  March  30,  1855.'  The  devil  may  look  at  that  as  often  as  he 
pleases  ;  it  will  afford  him  sorry  comfort. 

"  And  now,  farewell.      Christian  love  to  you  and  yours,  from — 

"  Yours  deeply  in  debt, 

"  C.  H.  Spurgeon." 


"  New  Kent  Road, 

"  South wark, 

"Feb.  23,  1856. 

"  My  Dear  Brother, 

"A  wearied  soldier  finds  one  moment  of  leisure  to  write  a  despatch  to 
his  brother  in  arms.  Eleven  times  this  week  have  I  gone  forth  to  battle,  and  at  least 
thirteen  services  are  announced  for  next  week.  Additions  to  the  church,  last  year, 
28 2  ;  received  this  year,  in  three  months,  more  than  80  : — 30  more  proposed  for  next 
month, — hundreds,  who  are  equally  sincere,  are  asking  for  admission  ;  but  time  will 
not  allow  us  to  take  in  more.  Congregation  more  than  immense, — even  The  Times 
has  noticed  it.  Everywhere,  at  all  hours,  places  are  crammed  to  the  doors.  The 
devil  is  wide  awake,  but  so,  too,  is  the  Master. 

"  The  Lord  Mayor,  though  a  Jew,  has  been  io  our  chapel  ;  he  came  up  to  my 
vestry  to  thank  me.  1  am  to  go  and  see  him  at  the  Mansion  House.  The  Chief 
Commissioner  of  Police  also  came,  and  paid  me  a  visit  in  the  vestry  ;  but,  better 
still,  some  thieves,  thimbleriggers,  harlots,  &c.,  have  come,  and  some  are  now  in 
the  church,  as  also  a  right  honourable  hot-potato  man,  who  is  prominently  known 
as  '  a  hot  Spurgeonite.' 

"The  sale  of  sermons  is  going  up, — some  have  sold  15,000.  Wife,  first-rate; 
beloved  by  all  my  people,  we  have  good  reason  mutually  to  rejoice. 

"  I  write  mere  heads,  for  you  can  fill  up  details. 


I02  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHV. 

"  I    have   been    this  week    to   Leighton    Buzzard,    Foots   Cray,    and   Chatham 

everywhere,  no  room  for  the  crowd.      Next  week,  I  am  to  be  thus  occupied  : — 

''Sabbath,         Morning  and  evening.  New  Park  Street. 

Afternoon,  to  address  the  schools. 

Monday,         Morning,  at  Howard  Hinton's  Chapel. 

Afternoon,  New  Park  Street. 

Evening, 

Tuesday,        Afternoon,  )  ,     .   , 

.  >  Leighton. 

Kvenmg,     J 

Wednesday,  Morning,     |  „.        „,         ,    ,,.,  .      ,        , 
„        .  vZion  Chapel,  W  hitechapel. 

hvenmg,     ) 

Thursday,       Morning,  Dalston. 

Evening,  New  Park  Street. 

Friday,  Morning,  Dr.  Fletcher's  Chapel. 

Evening,  Mr.  Rogers'  Chapel,  Brixton. 

"  With  best  love, 

"  Yours  in  haste, 

"  C.   H.  Sturgeon." 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 


first    SFisit   to  Scotland. 

(At  one  of  the  services  in  Glasgow,  during  the  tour  described  in  the  following  chapter,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  referred  to  some  ministers  "  who  apologize  for  not  preaching  so  often  or  so  vigorously  as 
they  once  did,  because  they  are  now  filty-seven  years  of  age;''  and  then  added,  "Fifty-seven!  only 
fifty-seven  !  What  a  happiness  to  preach  till  one  is  fifty-seven  !  /  wish  j  could  preach  tilt  1  was  fifty-sev^n ; 
how  many  souls  I  might  be  the  means  of  converting  by  that  time !  "  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;/;(/  preach  till  he 
was  fifty-seven ;  and  only  the  Lord  knows  how  many  souls  had  been  up  to  that  date  brought  to  the 
Saviour  through  his  ministry,  nor  how  great  will  be  the  ultimate  number  saved  through  his  printed 
sermons  and  other  works.) 

'^'A'  fi""^"^  '^■'^''^  "^o  Scotland  was  paid  in  July,  1855,  and  for  many  reasons 
it  left  lasting  impressions  on  my  memory.  It  began  with  some 
discomfort,  for  I  journeyed  from  London  to  Glasgow  by  nio-ht,  and 
travelling  at  that  time  was  accomplished  under  conditions  very 
different  from  those  of  the  present  day.  On  my  arrival  in  the 
morning,  I  found  my  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  John  Anderson,  ready 
to  receive  me,  and  to  conduct  me  to  his  hospitable  mansion.  (This  good  brother 
must  not  be  confounded  with  his  namesake,  Rev.  John  Anderson,  of  Helensburgh, 
whose  acquaintance  I  did  not  make  until  several  months  later,  but  who,  from  our 
first  meeting,  became  my  life-long  champion  and  friend.)  On  the  Sabbath,  July  15, 
I  preached  in  the  morning  at  Hope  Street  Baptist  Chapel  (Dr.  Patterson's),  and  in 
the  evening  in  West  George  Street  Chapel,  where  the  eminent  Dr.  Wardlaw  had 
formerly  ministered  with  great  acceptance.  It  was  a  glorious  sight  to  see  the 
people  crowding  both  places  of  worship,  but  it  also  increased  my  own  sense  of 
responsibility.  I  believe  that  we  had  the  presence  of  God  at  each  of  the  services, 
and  that  much  good  was  done.  Various  newspapers  gave  reports,  characterized  by 
more  or  less  truthfulness  and  kindly  feeling  ;  but  in  the  case  of  one,  the  contrast 
to  its  contemporaries,  was  all  the  more  marked  from  the  fact  that  it  bore  in  its  title 
the  sacred  name  of  Chnstiau,  while  others  were  looked  upon  as  secular  papers. 

The  Daily  Bu/lcfin,  July  16,  contained  the  following  article  : — 

"Visit  to  Glasgow  of  the   Rev.   Mr.   Spurgeon,  of  London. 

"  The  visit  to  Glasgow  of  this  gentleman,  when  announced  a  few  days  ao-o, 
was  looked  forward  to  with  great  pleasure  b\-  those  who  knew  anythino-  of  his 
extraordinary  gifts  and  powers.      He  preached  twice  yesterday;  in  the  forenoon,  in 


I04  C.      H.      SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAI'HY. 

Hope  Street  Baptist  Chapel  ;  in  the  evening,  in  West  George  Street  Church.  There 
was,  on  the  first  occasion,  a  full  audience  ;  on  the  second,  many  hundreds  had  to 
turn  away,  while  every  available  inch  within  the  church,  and  without  it  as  far  as  the 
speaker's  magnificent  voice  could  reach,  was  occupied.  Mr.  Spurgeon  owes  his 
celebrity  to  the  possession  of  first-class  oratorical  gifts,  which  seem  to  have  attained 
maturity  of  development  at  a  very  early  age,  so  that  he  has  established  a  reputation 
at  a  period  of  life  earlier  than  that  at  which  ordinary  men  enter  upon  a  profession. 
His  appearance  indicates  him  somewhat  beyond  his  actual  age  ;  and  like  his  great 
model,  Whitefield,  he  seems  blessed  with  'no  constitution,'  that  is,  he  is  endowed 
with  a  voice  strong,  clear,  bell-like,  which  could  be  heard  by  an  audience  of  \ery  many 
thousands  ;  and  with  a  physical  frame  equal  to  a  vast  amount  of  hard  work.  In  con- 
tour of  face,  he  reminds  us  somewhat  of  the  Rev.  John  Caird,  and  his  eye  has  the 
lustrous  light  of  genius  in  it.  You  cannot  listen  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  bright-eyed 
boy,  whether  he  be  preaching,  or  pleading  in  prayer,  without  feeling  that  no  mere 
clap-trap  rhetorician  is  before  you.  There  is  a  force  and  massiveness  about  his 
thoughts  and  language,  a  touching,  compelling  sincerity,  which  give  us  the  best  idea 
we  have  ever  had  of  the  great  early  preachers.  Like  some  of  these,  or  like  Rowland 
Hill  or  Whitefield,  of  later  times,  he  descends  to  a  homeliness  of  illustration,  to 
anecdotage,  even  to  mimicry, — a  dangerous  style,  for  great  taste  must  be  always 
exercised  along  with  it  ;  but  in  the  ability  to  pass  from  the  homely  or  the  grotesque  to 
the  dizzy  heights  of  imagination,  the  real  power  of  the  orator  is.  seen.  The  impression 
is  too  vivid  to  permit  of  our  entering  on  any  critical  re\iew  of  the  discourses  of 
yesterday  ; — the  subject  of  the  one  was,  '  The  Saviour  on  the  Tree  ;  '  and  of  the 
other,  '  The  Lamb  upon  the  Throne.'  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  as  most  brilliant  and 
thrilling  pulpit  appeals,  we  have  rarely  heard  them  equalled  ;  certainly,  in  some  points 
of  effect,  never  surpassed." 

The  Glasgow  Examiner,  which  had  pre\'iously  displayed  a  very  friendly  feeling, 
thus  reported,  in  its  issue  of  July  21,  the  first  Sabbath's  services: — 
"  The    Rev.    C.    H.    Si'Urceon. 

"It  having  been  for  some  time  generally  understood  that  this  distinguished 
divine,  for  and  against  whom  so  much  has  been  written  and  said,  would  visit 
Glasgow,  the  curiosity  ■  of  the  church-going  people  was  thoroughly  roused.  So 
many  and  varied  were  the  opinions  of  his  critics  that  we  believe  many  ot  the 
crowd  assembled  in  Hope  Street  Baptist  Chapel,  last  Sunday  morning,  expected 
to  see  a  nondescript  who,  instead  of  elevating  their  thoughts  to  the  throne 
of  the  Most  High,  would  merely  endeavour  to  excite  laughter.  But  when  the 
first  tones  of  the  speaker's  clear,  full  voice  fell  upon  their  ears,  invoking,  in  language 
most  sublime  and  beautiful,  the  presence   and   blessing  of  God,   they   must   indeed 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  IO5 

have  felt  that  truth  had  been  said  when  he  was  compared  to  George  Whitefield, 
the  prince  of  preachers.  After  singing,  he  read  a  chapter  in  the  New  Testament, 
expounding  as  he  went  along, — a  method  which  it  is  to  be  regretted  our  ministers 
do  not  more  often  adopt,  as  it  aftords  such  an  excellent  opportunity  of  dispelling 
the  difficulties  which  so  often  arise  in  reading  the  Scriptures.  The  subject  of 
discourse  was  from  Matthew  xxvii.  36:  And  sitting  down,  they  watched  Him 
there.'  Seldom  has  a  discourse,  so  thrillingly  eloquent,  been  delivered  in  Glasgow. 
The  arrangement  was  exceedingly  neat,  the  ideas  original,  while  the  whole  breathed 
a  spirit  of  most  genuine  piety.  One  thing  in  particular  we  noticed,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
follows  the  example  of  the  great  Teacher  of  Christianity  in  illustrating  his  meaning 
irom  external  objects, — a  mode  which  cannot  be  too  highly  recommended,  it  so 
much  aids  the  retention  ot  the  discourse  upon  the  memory. 

"  In  the  evening.  West  George  Street  Chapel  was  filled  in  every  part,  and,  long- 
before  the  appointed  hour,  many  were  unable  to  gain  admittance.  The  text  was 
from  Rev.  xiv.  i.  Many  parts  of  the  sermon  were  distinguished  by  exceeding 
pathos  and  strength  of  imagination,  and  the  preacher's  allusions  to  the  Covenant 
and  martyrs  of  Scotland  showed  that  he  had  discovered  the  nearest  way  to  the 
strong  brave  hearts  of  the  Scottish  people.  One  incident  proved  that  he  had 
completely  thawed  their  hearts.  On  coming  out  of  the  chapel,  every  one,  to  whom 
it  was  possible,  rushed  forward  to  shake  hands  with  him,  so  that  it  was  with 
considerable  difficulty  he  entered  the  carriage  which  stood  in  waiting. 

"  When  Mr  S.  again  preaches  in  Glasgow,  we  hope  that  it  will  be  in  a  larger 
chapel,  as  doubtless  many  more  will  wish  to  hear  him  from  the  report  carried  away 
by  those  who  had   that  privilege  yesterday." 

The  Christian  Nezvs,  July  21,  published  an  article  in  quite  another  strain  : — 
"  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

"  Heralded  by  certain  paragraphs,  for  which  those  who  know  how  to  '  sound  a 
trumpet  before  them  '  are  able,  by  some  occult  influences,  to  find  a  place  in  not  a  few 
of  the  newspapers  (albeit  they  are  occasionally  extinguished  by  the  avant-coitrcnr, 
'Advertisement,'  or  snubbed  by  the  dogged  and  dogging  '  Communicated  '),  the  Rev. 
C.  H.  Spurgeon  made  his  debut  in  this  city  on  Sunday  last.  In  the  morning,  he 
amused,  or  disgusted,  a  respectable  audience  in  Hope  Street  Baptist  Chapel  ;  and  in 
the  evening,  he  flung  out  platitudes  and  stale  anti-Arminianisms  to  a  large  audience 
in  West  George  Street  Chapel,  where  was  (sic)  wont  to  be  heard  the  silver 
tones  of  the  classic  Wardlaw.  We  did  not  form  part  of  the  morning  audience  ; 
but,  from  credible  reports,  we  have  not  ceased,  since  till  now,  congratulating 
ourselves  that  we  neither  witnessed  the  buffoonery  of  that  exhibition,  nor  listened 
to    the    commonplace     denunciation     of     bigotry     (repeated,    by    the    way,     in    the 


io6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

evening)  which  Mr.  S.  consistently  hedged  round  by  doctrines  or  dogmas  of 
the  most  rampant  exclusiveness.  The  evening's  exhibition  was,  we  are  informed, 
a  Httle  quieter  than  the  morning  one.  Perhaps  the  preacher  had  heard,  in  the 
interval,  that  Scotland  is  not  so  thoroughly  Calvinistic  as  he  in  his  dreams  had 
fancied  ;  and  it  may  have  been  hinted  to  him  that  the  pulpit  in  which,  by  some 
unaccountable  oversight,  we  may  not  say  manoeuvring,  he  was  to  be  permitted  to 
stand,  had  been  consecrated  to  the  intelligent  proclamation  ot  doctrines  certainly, 
even  in  their  deficiencies,  more  heart  and  mind  satisfying"  than  the  mire  and  dirt  with 
which  he  has  himself  become  muddled,  and  by  casting  forth  which  he  seeks  to 
muddle  the  minds  of  others.  .  .  .  We  must  also  remind  those  who  play  lacquey  to 
Mr.  S.,  that  their  strength  or  weakness  is  apt  to  be  known  from  the  company  thcv 
keep,  so  that,  striking  hands  with  bigots  and  buffoons,  they  may  be  suspected  of  a 
fellowship  therewith,  notwithstanding  any  halt-hearted  disclaimers  they  may  put 
forth.  If  you  can't  alone  fight  Arminianism,  do  engage  one  for  the  contest  who 
knows  what  Arminianism  is,  and  do  not  bring  disgrace  upon  yourselves  and  vour 
creed  by  endeavouring  to  screen  both  behind  the  mask  of  the  clown.  In  com- 
passion, too,  upon  the  boy  who  has  fallen  into  your  hands,  remember  the  mischief 
you  may  bring  upon  him,  if  it  be  not  already  brought,  and  against  which  Paul 
guards  in  i  Tim.  iii.  6.  There  may  be  occasion  to  deal  a  blow  to  the  mask  ; — if  so, 
let  the  masker  look  to  himself 

As  I  had  gone  to  the  North  partly  for  a  holiday,  during  the  week  I  journeyed 
on  to  the  Highlands,  where  I  revelled  in  the  grand  scenery  of  the  country  of 
which  Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote  : — 

"  Caledonia  !  stern  and  wild, 
Meet  nurse  for  a  poetic  child  ! 
Land  of  brown  heath  and  shaggy  wood; 
Land  of  the  mountain  and  the  flood." 

There  was  one  place  where  my  friend  Anderson  was  particularly  anxious  for  me 
to  preach  ;  that  was  Aberfeldy,  an  obscure  and  curious  village.  There  was  an 
Independent  Chapel  there,  and  the  usual  kirk,  but  nobody  appeared  even  to  have 
heard  the  name  of  .Spurgeon,  so  there  was  some  difficulty  in  knowing  how  to  draw  the 
people  together  to  hear  the  Word.  However,  early  in  the  morning,  Mr.  Anderson 
knocked  at  my  door,  and  said,  "  I  have  thought  of  a  plan  for  getting  you  a  congrega- 
tion to-night."  I  answered,  "  I  am  not  very  particular  about  the  plan,  so  you  try  it  if 
you  think  it  will  succeed."  He  sent  round  the  crier  at  nine,  and  twelve,  and  three 
o'clock,  with  a  notice  to  this  effect: — "Your  auld  acquaintance,  Johnny  Anderson, 
who  used  to  live  here  in  Aberfeldy,  has  arrived,  and  has  brought  with  him  his 
adopted  son  Timothy,  who  is  going  to  preach  to-night."  Then  followed  an  account 
of  my  labours  and  successes  in  London,  and  an  earnest  invitation  to  all  to  be  present. 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  107 

As  the  appointed  hour  drew  nigh,  the  "  brither  Scots  "  began  to  assemble,  and  by  the 
time  tor  beginning  the  service,  the  chapel  was  well  filled.  The  good  minister  gave 
out  one  of  the  Psalms,  which  was  sung  in  a  very  devout  style,  but  not  with  that 
heartiness  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed  among  my  own  warm-hearted  friends. 
I  then  read  and  expounded  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  was  much  pleased  to  see 
nearly  every  one  following  me  most  attentively,  and  very  devoutly  listening  to  the 
simple  exposition  which  it  is  my  custom  to  offer.  After  prayer  and  singing  I  began 
to  preach  ;  but  there  were  no  eyes  of  fire,  and  no  beaming  countenances,  to  cheer 
me  while  proclaiming  the  gospel  message.  The  greater  part  of  the  congregation 
sat  in  apparent  indift'erence  ;  they  seemed  made  of  lumps  of  ice  fetched  from  Wenham 
Lake.  I  tried  all  means  to  move  them,  but  in  vain.  JKt  one  time,  a  racy  remark 
provoked  a  smile  from  two  or  three  ;  but  the  rest,  deeming  it  profane  to  laugh, 
sat  like  those  two  eminent  Egyptian  gentlemen  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  looking  at 
me  with  majestic,  but  aftected  solemnity.  Then  I  advanced  to  more  pathetic 
themes,  and  although  I  myself  wept,  not  a  tear  came  from  the  eyes  of  my 
audience,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions.  I  felt  like  the  Welshman  who  could  make 
Welshmen  jump,  but  could  not  move  the  English.  1  thought  within  myself,  "  Surely 
your  blood  is  very  cold  here,  for  everywhere  else  I  should  have  seen  signs  of  emotion 
while  preaching  Christ  and  Him  crucified."  Certainly,  some  did  appear  impressed; 
but,  on  the  whole,  I  never  saw  so  cold  an  assembly  in  rtiy  life.  The  sermon  over, 
and  the  concluding  prayer  offered,  a  rush  was  made  for  the  door  ;  and  before  I  could 
descend  the  pulpit  stairs,  the  chapel  was  deserted,  and  the  whole  flock  scattered 
abroad.  Never  did  I  see  so  hasty  an  evacuation,  and  I  am  certain  that,  if  the  village 
were  ever  threatened  by  the  Russians,  the  inhabitants  would  be  able  to  escape  "  over 
the  hills  and  far  away  "  at  an  hour's  notice,  if  they  used  the  same  expedition. 

Feeling  rather  sad  at  our  singular  service,  I  went  into  the  street,  and  was 
delighted  to  find  that,  although  cold  as  marble  in  the  building,  they  were  now 
hearty  and  full  of  feeling.  I  will  not  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  I  trust  some 
secret  work  was  done  :  the  earnest  thanks  for  my  trouble,  and  the  eager  request  that 
I  would  come  again,  showed  that  there  had  been  some  appreciation  of  the  service, 
despite  that  formality  which  their  training  had  engendered.  I  retired  to  rest  with 
the  conviction  that  the  last  day  would  prove  that  the  seed  was  not  lost  ;  and  I 
confidently  expect  to  see  in  glory  some  soul  plucked  from  the  burning  by  the  arm  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  through  the  message  delivered  by  me  to  the  people  of  Aberfeldy. 

On  my  way  back  to  Glasgow,  I  had  an  adventure  which  was  somewhat  un- 
pleasant, and  which  might  have  had  more  serious  consequences.  The  accounts  of  it 
were  considerably  exaggerated  ;  my  friends  in  London  were  told  that  I  had  been 
thrown   into   the  water,  and  dragged  out  by  the  hair  of  my  head.      It  was  not  so, 


I08  C.     H.     SPURGEON's     AUTOBIOGRArHV. 

though   there   certainly  was   some   danger,    as    my    letter,    published  in   the    North 
British  Daily  Mail,  July  20,  plainly  shows  : — 

"  Narrow    Escape    at    Govan    Ferry. 
"  To  the   Editor  of  the  North  British  Daily  Mail 

"  Sir, 

"The  value  of  the  press  as  the  corrector  of  abuses  is  incalculable.  Will 
you  allow  me  to  avail  myself  of  your  columns  to  expose  an  individual  who  ought  to 
suffer  some  more  severe  penalty  for  his  folly  .''  On  returning,  on  Wednesday  evening, 
from  a  tour  in  the  Highlands,  I  requested  to  be  set  on  shore  at  Govan  Ferry.  A 
boat  was  brought  alongside,  into  which  I  entered,  and  was  not  a  little  distressed  to 
find  that  strong  drink  had  been  doing  mischief  with  the  brains  of  the  boatman. 
We  were  propelled,  much  to  the  dismay  of  the  ladies  on  board,  upon  the  track 
which  a  steamer  then  approaching  was  certain  to  take.  The  boat  was,  however, 
after  some  remonstrance,  guided  safely  to  the  side  of  the  other  steamer,  and  then 
the  manager  of  the  boat,  who  was  '  as  drunk  as  a  lord,'  filled  it  until  we  stood  so 
thickly  together  that  we  could  not  move,  and  the  slightest  motion  must  have  sent 
us  all  to  the  bottom. 

"  Now,    sir,    I    have    not    the    honour    to   be   a   .Scotchman,   but   I    may   ask, — 

Are  there  no  authorities   who  can  prevent  boats  from   being  overcrowded,  and  call 

a  man   to   account  who   was   so   drunk   as   to  be   incapable  of  anvthing   except   the 

lowest  abuse  and  swearing  ?     Should  an  important  ferry  be   in  the  hands  of  a  man 

who  has  not  sufficient  respect  for  himself  to  a\oid  drunkenness,  and  is  so  careless 

of  the   lives   ot    others   that   he   can   so   foolishly   expose    them  .>*     We    were    safely 

landed,   but  not  until  one  gentleman   had  been  over  his  knees  in   the   water  ;    but 

should  another  time  be  less  propitious,  some  life  must  be  lost.      I  have  written,  not 

for   myself,   but   for   the   other   four-and-twenty   who   were    placed   in    so   perilous   a 

situation. 

"Yours,   &c., 

"  C.    H.   Spukgeon." 

(The   following  letter,  written  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  his  father,  at  this  date,  has 

been    preserved  :    he    had    it    copied,    and    laid    aside   with    other    material    for    his 

Autobiograpliy : — ) 

"  Fairfield, 

"  Near  Glasgow, 

"  July  19,    1855. 
"  My   Dear  Father, 

"  During  the  past  week,  I  have  been  among  the  noble  mountains  in  the 

Highlands  ;  and  you  will  rejoice  to  hear  how  much  better  I  feel.      Last  Sabbath,  I 

preached  twice  in  Glasgow  to  immense  crowds. 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  109 

"  There  is  as  much  stir  about  me  here  as  there  is  in  London,  and  I  hope  souls 
are  really  being  saved.  I  am  sure  you  will  excuse  my  being  brief,  since  I  have  so 
many  letters  to  answer,  and  I  do  not  want  to  keep  indoors,  but  to  have  all  the 
air   I   can. 

"  Oh,  what  must  God  be,  if  such  are  His  works  !  I  suppose  Mother  is  back  ; 
kiss  her  for  me,  and  give  my  love  to  all.  I  am  happy,  but  had  rather  be  home 
again  ; — you  will  guess  the  reason.  I  only  want  that  one  person  to  make  the  trip  a 
very  fine  one  ; — but  patience,  Charles. 

"  Best  love  to  you,  my  very  dear  Father, 

"  Prom  your  affectionate  son, 

"  Charles." 

I  had  promised  to  preach  at  Bradford,  the  followmg  Sabbath  (July  22)  ;  and  on 
my  wav  to  Yorkshire,  I  made  a  short  stay  at  Lake  Windermere,  round  .which  I 
sailed,  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  beauties  of  its  scenery.  On  reaching  Bradford, 
I  found  that  the  friends  had  engaged  the  Music  Hall,  which,  they  said,  held  a 
thousand  persons  more  than  Exeter  Hall  ;  but  it  was  not  large  enough  to 
contain  the  crowds  that  came.  On  the  Sunday  morning,  almost  as  many  had 
to  go  awav  as  were  accommodated  in  the  building ;  in  the  evening,  the  streets 
presented  a  solid  block  of  living  men  and  women.  The  place  was  crammed  to 
excess,  and  I  had  scarcely  room  to  move  about  to  deliver  what  I  had  to  say  to 
the  people.  At  the  end  of  the  day,  I  was  delighted  to  find  that,  not  only  had 
thousands  of  persons  heard  the  Word,  but  they  had  given  ^144  towards  the 
Sabbath-schools  in  connection  with  which  the  services  had  been  held.  From 
Bradford,  I  went  to  Stockton-on-Tees,  and  there  again  I  preached  to  a  very  large 
congregation. 

Journeying  back  again  to  Scotland,  I  conducted  a  service  in  Queen  Street  Hall, 
Edinburgh,  on  Wednesday  evening,  July  25.  Notwithstanding  pouring  rain,  a 
great  crowd  of  people  again  assembled.  I  was  very  delighted,  after  the  sermon,  to 
meet  with  a  military  officer  who  grasped  my  hand,  and  said,  "  For  twenty  years  I 
have  served  her  Majesty,  yet  never  had  I  heard  the  Word  of  God  to  my  soul's  profit 
until  I  stepped  into  Dr.  Wardlaw's  Chapel,  at  Glasgow,  a  week  ago  last  Sabbath. 
But  now  I  am  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  King  of  kings.  The  Lord  God  of 
hosts  bless  you  !  The  King  of  kings  be  with  you  !  The  God  of  Jacob  help  you 
everywhere  !  "  I  blessed  the  dear  man,  and  retired  to  rest,  conscious  that,  if  I  had 
done  nothing  else,  yet,  through  my  instrumentality,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Crimea, 
who  had  not  turned  his  back  in  the  day  of  battle,  was  found  numbered  among  the 
good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ. 


no  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

The  Christian  A'czus,  July  28,  thus  described  this  service  : — 
"  The  Rev.  C.   H.  Spurgeon  in   Edinburgh. 

"  According  to  announcement  in  the  newspapers  and  by  placards,  this  reverend 
gentleman,  whose  appearances  have  created  such  an  interest  in  Exeter  Hall,  London, 
preached  a  sermon  in  Queen  Street  Hall,  Edinburgh,  on  Wednesday  evening, 
25th  inst.  Favoured  with  a  seat  which  commanded  an  admirable  prospect  of  the 
platform,  we  waited  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  in  company  with  a  multitude  of 
sight-seers,  who  had  been  drawn  together  by  the  fame  or  notoriety  of  the  preacher, 
and,  as  the  sequel  proved,  were  but  rather  sparingly  rewarded  for  our  pains.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  oratory  was  unequal  and  clumsy  in  the  extreme, — the  Spirit  having 
deserted  him,  according  to  his  own  confession.  Might  not  this  be  a  punishment  for 
his  non-preparation  1  for  he  glories  that  he  never  prepares,  which  in  our  ears, 
particularly  from  a  minister,  sounds  very  much  like  glorying  in  his  shame,  though 
he  informed  his  audience  that,  at  times,  his  eloquence  is  like  the  mountain  torrent, 
and  rolls  along  like  a  winged  chariot.  We  were  sorry  for  Mr.  Spurgeon,  more  sorry 
for  his  friends,  and  most  sorry  for  the  audience,  many  of  whom  were  competent 
persons,  and  had  evidently  come  to  listen  to  something  extraordinary  in  the  use  of 
the  pulpit.  That  Mr.  Spurgeon  should  have  become  an  idol  in  London,  we  do  not 
wonder,  for  we  remember  Mr.  Jay,  of  Bath,  saying  '  that  the  London  public  is  the 
most  gullible  public  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  that  any  man  who  should  vociferate 
standing  on  his  head  would  gather  immense  congregations  around  him,  whatever  his 
vulgarity  and  insolence.  Mr.  S.,  in  our  estimation,  is  just  a  spoiled  boy,  with 
abilities  not  more  than  mediocre,  and  will  for  certain,  if  he  do  not  retrace  his  steps, 
share  the  fate  of  the  '  early  gooseberry '  or  the  '  monster  cucumber  ',  that  appear 
almost  annually  in  the  columns  of  the  newspapers, — sink  into  obscurity,  leaving  only 
the  memorial  of  his  career,  that  he  was,  and  that  he  has  descended  to  that  nihility 
from  which,  by  puffing  and  blustering,  he  originally  and  unworthily  sprang." 

The  reference,  in  the  above  paragraph,  to  desertion  by  the  Spirit  of  God  was  a 
gross  perversion  of  fact,  for  I  had  not  neglected  preparation  ior  the  service.  The 
incident  was  very  vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind  and  heart,  but  I  think  the  true 
lesson  to  be  learned  from  it  was  the  one  I  tried  to  teach  my  own  people  after  I 
returned  to  London.  I  said  to  them  : — "  Once,  while  preaching  in  Scotland,  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  pleased  to  desert  me  ;  I  could  not  speak  as  usually  I  have  done. 
I  was  obliged  to  tell  the  people  that  the  chariot  wheels  were  taken  off,  and  that  the 
chariot  dragged  along  very  heavily.  1  have  felt  the  benefit  of  that  experience  ever 
since.  It  humbled  me  bitterly  ;  and  if  I  could,  I  would  have  hidden  myself  in  any 
obscure  corner  of  the  earth.  I  felt  as  if  I  should  speak  no  more  in  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  then  the  thought  came,    '  Oh,   thou  art  an  ungrateful  creature  !       Hath 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  I  I  I 

not  God  spoken  by  thee  hundreds  of  times  ?  And  this  once,  when  He  would  not  do 
so,  wilt  thou  upbraid  Him  for  it  ?  Nay,  rather  thank  Him  that  He  hath  so  long 
stood  by  thee  ;  and  if  once  He  hath  forsaken  thee,  admire  His  goodness,  that  thus 
He  would  keep  thee  humble.'  Some  may  imagine  that  want  of  study  brought  me 
into  that  condition,  but  I  can  honestly  affirm  that  it  was  not  so.  I  think  that  I  am 
bound  to  give  myself  unto  reading,  and  not  to  tempt  the  Spirit  by  unthought-of 
effusions.  I  always  deem  it  a  duty  to  seek  my  sermons  Irom  my  Master,  and  implore 
Him  to  impress  them  on  my  mind;  but,  on  that  occasion,  I  think  I  had  prepared  even 
more  carefully  than  I  ordinarily  do,  so  that  unpreparedness  was  not  the  reason  for 
the  lack  of  force  I  then  mourned.  The  simple  fact  is  this,  '  The  wind  blovveth  where 
it  listeth  ; '  and,  sometimes,  the  winds  themselves  are  still.  Therefore,  if  I  rest 
on  the  Spirit,  I  cannot  expect  that  I  should  always  feel  His  power  alike.  What 
could  I  do  without  His  celestial  influence.''  To  that,  I  owe  everything.  Other 
servants  of  the  Lord  have  had  experiences  similar  to  mine.  In  the  Life  of  Whitefield 
we  read  that,  sometimes,  under  one  of  his  sermons,  two  thousand  persons  would 
profess  to  be  saved,  and  many  of  them  were  really  so  ;  at  other  times,  he  preached 
just  as  powerfully,  and  no  conversions  were  recorded.  Why  was  that  ?  Simply, 
because,  in  the  one  case,  the  Holy  Spirit  went  with  the  Word  ;  and  in  the  other 
case,  He  did  not.  All  the  Heavenly  result  of  preaching  is  owing  to  the  Divine 
Spirit  sent  from  above." 

On  the  next  Sabbath  (July  29),  I  preached  twice  more  in  Glasgow.  The 
morning  service  was  at  West  Nile  Street  Chapel  (Rev.  A.  Fraser's),  and  there  again 
I  found  the  necessity  for  a  much  larger  building  to  hold  all  the  people  who  wanted 
to  be  present.  In  the  evening,  I  preached  in  Greyfriars'  Church  (Dr.  King's),  and 
that  spacious  house  of  prayer  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  while  I  was 
afterwards  assured  by  the  Editor  of  one  of  the  papers  that  20,000  persons  went 
away,  unable  to  obtain  admission.  Once  more  I  received  the  help  of  my  gracious 
Master  as  I  proclaimed  His  truth  to  the  eager  crowd  that  came  to  hear  it. 

John  Smith,  Esq.,  M.A.,  the  Editor  of  The  Glasgow  Exammer,  inserted  in  his 
paper  an  account  of  these  two  services,  with  a  lengthy  critique  upon  my  ministry, 
commencing  thus  : — "  The  way  moth-eaten  routine  generally  settles  off  anyone  who 
dares  to  break  away  from  its  old,  time-worn  tracks  is,  by  pronouncing  him  an 
empiric.  Galileo,  Columbus,  Luther,  Knox,  the  apostle  Paul,  and  even  the  Author  of 
Christianity  Himself  were,  by  the  accredited  orthodoxy  of  their  day,  stigmatized  as 
empirics  ;  and  so  will  it  be  with  anyone  who  ventures  to  do  or  say  otherwise  than 
according  to  the  existing  modes  and  fashions.  .  .  .  Routine  in  religious  services  is 
extremely  liable  to  beget  a  listless,  lukewarm  compliance  with  its  prescribed  forms, 
while  the  spirit  or  animus  gradually  subsides.      The  preacher  speaks  his  usual  "time  ; 


112  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

the  people  sit  patiently  enouoh,  perhaps  ;  a  few  may  even  listen  ;  the  usual  number 
of  verses  is  sung,  and  the  business  of  the  clay  is  over  ;  there  is  generally  no  more 
about  it.  No  one  can  deny  that  this  is  more  or  less  than  a  simple  statement  of  the 
real  state  of  matters  in  the  majority  of  our  churches  at  the  present  day.  Should  the 
minister  during  his  discourse  sharpen  his  intellects  with  a  sprinkling  of  snuff,  let  fall  his 
handkerchief  on  the  Psalm-book,  or  give  one  thump  louder  than  usual  with  the  fist 
ecclesiastic,  that  will  be  noted,  remembered,  and  commented  on,  while  there  is  all  but 
_Lotal  oblivion  of  the  subject  and  the  nature  of  the  discussion.  To  break  up  this 
deadening  process,  to  shake  the  dry  bones  and  make  them  live,  ought  to  be  the 
great  aim  of  the  preacher  at  the  present  day  ;  but  it  is  not  everyone  who  can  do  it. 
Affectation  of  manner  or  style  won't  do  it  ;  talent — we  may  say,  genius — of  a  peculiar 
nature  is  required  ;  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  possesses 
the  requisites  in  an  unusual  degree.  No  doubt  many  respectable  and  sensible  men, 
when  hearing  of  the  odd,  and  to  them,  uncanonical  expressions  of  this  young 
preacher,  would  be  very  apt  to  find  the  word  '  empiric '  or  '  quack '  upon  their 
tongue's  end. 

"We  must  ourselves  plead  guilty  to  some  such  expression  when  we  first  heard 
of  his  youth,  unsystematic  training,  and  official  boldness.  We,  in  common  with  our 
fellow-citizens,  had  seen  and  heard  so  much  of  boy-preaching,  lay-preaching,  and 
bold  preaching,  that  there  was  nothing  uncharitable  in  entertaining  some  doubts  of 
his  intrinsic  excellence  ;  still,  that  large  London  audiences  daily  waited  on  his 
ministry,  was  a  fact  that  could  not  be  stifled  with  a  sneer.  It  could  not  be  any 
novelty  in  the  theme  itself,  as  there  were  thousands  of  preachers,  and  millions  of 
books  and  tracts,  dilating  on  it  before  Mr  Spurgeon  made  his  appearance  ;  it  could 
not  be  any  new  doctrine,  for  this  was'  the  same  as  John  Calvin  preached  centuries 
ago,  and  circumstantially  the  same  as  that  preached  by  the  Evangelical  denomi- 
nations around  him  ;  neither  could  it  be  his  youth,  as  there  are  in  the  churches  of 
Britain  scores  of  preachers  as  young  as  he  is  ;  neither  could  it  be  the  few  oittrt 
sentences  that  were  scattered  through  his  discourses,  for  there  are  many  in  London 
who  sav  stranger  and  odder  things  than  any  that  he  has  yet  uttered.  But  what  was 
the  character  of  these  crowds  that  went  to  hear  him  1  Were  they  the  profane,  the 
ignorant  and  illiterate,  the  light-hearted  and  frivolous  young  people  of  the  metro- 
polis ?  There  might  have  been  some  of  these  among  the  many  ;  but,  as  far  as  we 
can  learn,  they  were  fair  examples  of  the  respectable  church-going  community, 
perfectly  capable  of  judging  rationally  on  all  subjects  that  engross  public  attention. 
We  maintain  that  no  man  could  have  sustained  such  excitement,  and  kept  together 
such  crowds  of  people  for  two  or  three  years,  unless  he  was  possessed  of  more 
than  ordinary  gifts.  But  we  do  not  now  require  to  judge  him  by  the  effects  of  his 
preaching  upon   a   metropolitan  crowd.       He    has    appeared    amongst   us,   and    the 


C.     H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  II3 

London  verdict  has  been  fully  confirmed  by  immense  audiences,  that  have  been 
equally  spell-bound  by  his  oratory.  According  to  reports,  he  indulged  somewhat 
freely  in  the  out-of-the-way  expressions  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  his  sojourn  in  this 
city  ;  but  such  was  not  the  case  last  Sabbath,  and  his  discourses  on  that  occasion 
were  still  more  fascinating  and  attractive.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  about  him  that 
hearty,  open,  English  frankness,  which  has  no  hesitation  in  giving  full  and  free 
utterance  to  its  opinions,  loves,  and  dislikes.  Then  there  is  the  ready,  acute 
perception  which  never  fails  to  bring  out  fresh  and  striking  illustrations  from  any 
text  on  which  the  attention  is  directed.  Again,  there  is  an  extensive  acquaintance 
with  literature,  which,  by  the  aid  of  a  retentive  memory,  can  at  a  moment's  notice 
furnish  the  speaker  with  choice  and  appropriate  material.  And  lastly,  there  is  a 
jDower  of  voice,  and  volubility  of  utterance,  which  enable  him  to  speak  with  great 
ease,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  powerful  effect  to  his  sentiments.  We  may  have 
heard  many  preachers  who  could  reason  more  correctly  and  profoundly,  who 
displayed  more  classical  elegance  and  polish,  but  we  have  not  heard  one  who  can 
more  powerfully  arrest  the  attention  and  carry  the  sympathies  of  an  audience  along 
with  him.   .   .   . 

"Though  it  has  been  extensively  circulated  that  his  prayers  are  irreverent, 
presumptuous,  and  blasphemous,  there  was  nothing  in  them  on  Sabbath  last  which 
could  with  truth  be  so  characterized.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  correct,  appropriate, 
and  beautiful.  He  certainly  has  not  followed  the  usual  pulpit  style,  but  has  opened 
his  eyes  on  the  state  of  society  in  all  its  forms  and  phases,  and  adapted  his 
confessions,  and  petitions,  and  thanksgivings.  He  confesses  the  peculiar  sins  of  the 
times,  as  well  as  the  inherent  and  changeless  depravity  of  mans  nature  ;  the  sins 
of  the  parlour,  the  counting-house,  and  the  public  assembly  ;  the  sins  of  individuals, 
families,  and  nations.  He  offers  petitions  for  various  classes  of  characters, — for  the 
profligate  and  careless,  for  the  old,  the  young,  and  for  little  children  ;  petitions  for 
churches,  for  nations,  for  the  world,  all  in  a  somewhat  novel  manner.  \\  hile  he 
gives  thanks  for  special  blessings,  and  employs  language  which  none  but  the  genuine 
believer  can  appropriate,  and  which  even  he  must  sometimes  acknowledge  with 
hesitancy,  he  forgets  not  the  common  benefits  which  all  share,  and  the  common 
blessings  with  which  all  are  crowned.  We  have  heard  much  of  undue  familiarities 
and  daring  impieties,  but  we  witnessed  none  of  them.  There  was  an  earnestness, 
an  unction,  a  fluency,  and  an  urgency,  which  are  but  too  seldom  imitated.  His 
reading  and  exposition  of  the  Word  of  God,  we  reckon  exceedingly  good.  Every 
word  receives  its  proper  emphasis  and  tone,  and  his  remarks  are  generally  terse, 
original,  and  instructive. 

On    the    following   Thursday,    my   kind    host,    Mr.   Anderson,    invited   about  a 

H 


114 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


hundred  friends  to  meet  me  at  his  mansion,  that  I  might  bid  them  farewell.  I  gave 
them  an  account  of  the  way  the  Lord  had  led  me  into  the  ministry,  and  of  the 
blessing  He  had  already  bestowed  upon  my  service  ;  and,  at  their  urgent  request,  I 
promised  to  go  and  see  them  once  a  year,  if  possible.  I  told  them  that  they  had  treated 
me  far  better  than  I  deserved, — surely,  it  was  for  my  Master's  sake.  I  don't  know  how 
it  is  that  people  are  so  good  to  me, — I  have  never  sought  the  applause  of  men, — 
however,  if  God  has  given  me  any  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  it  is  for  me 
to  use  that  favour  to  His  glory  ;  not  to  be  exalted  by  it,  but  to  thank  Him  tor  it,  and 
to  employ  it  all  in  His  service. 


REV.    JOHN   ANDERSON,    HELENSBURGH. 

Though  it  belongs  to  the  following  year,  part  of  the  letter  from  Rev.  John 
Anderson,  of  Helensburgh,  which  was  published  in  The  Scottish  Guardian,  April  i8, 
1856,  may  be  appropriately  inserted  here  : — 

"Sir, — When  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  in  Glasgow,  last  summer,  the  fame  of  his 
eloquence  had  reached  me  in  my  seclusion  here,  by  the  shores  of  the  sounding  sea, 
the  noise  of  whose  waves  delights  me  more  than  the  '  din  of  cities '  or  the  tumult  of 
the  people.  I  had  heard  him  '  spoken  against '  by  some,  but  spoken  of  by  others  as 
a  preacher  of  remarkable,  and,  since  the  days  of  Whitefield  himself,  of  unprecedented 
popularity.  But  being  one  of  those  who  judge  for  themselves  in  the  matter  of 
preaching,  and  whose  opinions  as  to  what  constitutes  good  preaching  are  somewhat 
peculiar,    I    did    not   attach   much,    I   may  almost  say,   any,   importance  whatever  to 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  115 

what  I  heard  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  and  his  popularity  in  Glasgow.  One  of  his  printed 
sermons,  however,  having  fallen  in  my  way,  I  had  no  sooner  read  a  few  paragraphs 
of  it  than  I  said,  '  Here  at  last  is  a  preacher  lO  my  mind, — one  whom  not  only  I,  but 
whom  Paul  himself,  I  am  persuaded,  were  he  on  earth,  would  hear,  approve,  and 
own.'  I  forget  what  was  the  subject  of  the  discourse  ;  but  I  remember  well  saying 
to  myself  '  I  would  rather  have  been  the  author  of  that  sermon  than  of  all  the 
sermons,  or  volumes  of  sermons,  published  in  my  day.'  I  had  lately  before  this  been 
reading  Guthrie  and  Caird,  but  here  was  something  entirely  different,  and,  to  my 
mind,  in  all  that  constitutes  a  genuine  and  a  good  gospel  sermon,  infinitely 
superior. 

"  For  some  time  after  this,  I  heard  litde,  and  thought  little,  about  Mr.  Spurgeon. 
Having  been,  however,  in  London,  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  March,  and  having  been 
unexpectedly  released  from  an  engagement  to  preach,  I  thought  I  could  not  do 
better  than  go  and  hear  for  myself  the  preacher  of  whom  I  had  heard  so  much  in 
my  own  country.  .  .  .  Though,  from  the  crowd  which  choked  the  doors  and 
passages,  we  did  not  see  the  preacher  very  well,  we — and  this  was  what  we 
wanted, — heard  him  distincdy.  When  we  entered,  he  was  expounding,  as  is  his 
custom,  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures.  The  passage  expounded  was  Exodus,  14th 
chapter,  which  contains  an  account  of  the  Israelites  at  the  Red  Sea, — a  passage 
of  Scripture  peculiarly  interesting  to  me,  having  stood  on  its  shore,  and  sailed  on 
the  very  spot  where  the  waters  were  so  wondrously  divided.  The  remarks  of  the 
preacher  on  each  of  the  verses  were  very  much  in  the  style  of  Henry,  and  were  rich 
and  racy.  His  text  was  from  the  io6th  Psalm,  and  the  subject  of  the  discourse  was 
the  same  with  that  of  the  chapter  he  had  just  expounded, — '  The  Israelites  at  the 
Red  Sea.'  .   .   . 

"  Such  was  the  method  of  one  of  the  richest  and  ripest  sermons,  as  regards 
Christian  experience,  I  ever  heard, — all  the  more  wonderful  as  being  the  sermon  of 
so  young  a  man.  It  was  a  sermon  far  in  advance  of  the  experience  of  many  of  his 
hearers  ;  and  the  preacher  evidently  felt  this.  But,  notwithstanding  this,  such  was 
the  simplicity  of  his  style,  the  richness  and  quaintness  of  his  illustrations,  his  intense 
earnestness,  and  the  absolute  and  admirable  naturalness  of  his  delivery,  it  told  upon 
his  audience  generally,  and  told  powerfully.  Many,  indeed  most  of  them,  were  of 
'  the  common  people,'  and  when  I  looked  on  their  plebeian  faces,  their  hands  brown 
with  labour,  and,  in  many  cases,  their  faded  attire,  I  could  not  help  remembering 
Him  of  whom  it  is  said,  '  the  common  people  heard  Him  gladly.'  Yes,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
is  the  minister  of  '  the  common  people  ; '  I  am  told  he  considers  himself  to  be  such, 
and  well  he  may.  Happy  London  people,  if  they  but  knew  their  happiness,  to  have 
such  a  minister!  .  .  .  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  equally  great  in  the  tender  and  the  terrible. 
Nor  is  he  •without  humour.      Here,  many  will  refuse  him  their  sympathy,  and  think 


ii6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

him  censurable.  I  scarcely  think  he  is.  Others  will  think,  and  do  think  differently. 
His  taste,  according  to  others,  is  bad.  It  is,  I  admit,  often  so.  But  then,  think  of 
the  immaturity  of  his  years.  I  was  told  he  was  conceited.  I  saw  no  proofs  of  it  ; 
and  if  I  had,  was  I  on  that  account  to  think  less  of  his  sermons  ?  I  do  not  say  I  will 
not  eat  good  bread,  because  the  maker  of  it  is  conceited.  His  conceit  may  be  a 
bad  thing  for  himself ; — his  bread  is  very  good  for  me.  I  am  far  from  thinking 
Mr.  Spurgeon  perfect.  In  this  respect  he  is  not  like  Whitefield,  who  from  the  first 
was  as  perfect  as  an  orator  as  he  was  at  the  last.  In  respect  of  his  power  over 
an  audience,  and  a  London  one  in  particular,  I  should  say  he  is  not  inferior  to 
Whitefield  himself.  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  a  Calvinist,  which  few  of  the  Dissenting 
ministers  in  London  now  are.  He  preaches  salvation,  not  of  man's  free  ivilL  but 
of  the  Lord's  good  zui//,  which  few  in  London,  it  is  to  be  feared,  now  do.  On  all 
these  accounts,  we  hail  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  with  no  ordinary  delight, 
and  anticipate  for  him  a  career  of  no  ordinary  usefulness.  '  Happy  are  they  which 
stand  continually  before  him,  and  hear  his  words  of  wisdom.'  As  for  myself,  I  shall 
long  remember  with  delight  the  day  on  which  I  stood  among  them,  and  recommend 
such  of  my  countrymen  as  may  have  a  Lord's-day  to  spend  in  London,  to  spend  it, 
as  I  did,  in  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  in  hearing  Mr.  Spurgeon." 


CHAPTER     XLIV. 


Jlarfiitllous  Incmsc— facts  mxn  figures. 

Any  man,  vvlxi  has  his  eyes  open  to  the  world  at  large,  will  acknowledge  that  there  are  many 
clouds  brooding  over  England,  and  over  the  world.  I  received  lately  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  at  Hull, 
in  which  he  tells  me  that  he  sympathizes  with  my  views  concerning  the  condition  of  the  Church  at 
large.  I  do  not  know  whether  Christendom  was  ever  vporse  off  than  it  is  now.  At  any  rate,  I  pray  God 
it  never  may  be.  Read  the  account  of  the  condition  of  the  Suffolk  churches,  where  the  gospel  is 
somewhat  flourishing,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  they  have  had  hardly  any  increase  at  all  in 
the  year.  So  you  may  go  from  church  to  church,  and  find  scarcely  any  that  are  growing.  Here  and 
there,  a  chapel  is  filled  with  people  ;  here  and  there,  you  see  an  earnest  minister ;  here  and  there,  an 
increasing  church ;  here  and  there,  a  good  prayer-meeting ;  but  these  are  only  like  green  spots  in  a 
great  desert.  Wherever  I  have  gone  through  England,  I  have  always  been  grieved  to  see  how  the  Church 
of  Christ  is  under  a  cloud,— how  "  the  precious  sons  of  Zion,  comparable  to  fine  gold,  are  esteemed  as 
earthen  pitchers,  the  work  of  the  hands  of  the  potter."  It  is  not  for  me  to  set  myself  up  as  universal 
censor  of  the  Church ;  but  I  must  be  honest,  and  say  that  spiritual  hfe,  and  fire,  and  zeal,  and  piety 
seem  to  be  absent  in  ten  thousand  instances.  We  have  abundance  of  agencies,  we  have  good 
mechanism,  but  the  Church,  nowadays,  is  very  much  like  a  large  steam  engine  without  any  fire,  and, 
therefore,  without  any  steam.  There  is  everything  but  steam,  everything  but  life.  England  is  veiled  in 
clouds ;— not  clouds  of  infidelity  ;  I  care  not  one  fig  for  all  the  infidels  in  England,  and  I  do  not  think  it  is 
worth  Mr.  Grant's  trouble  to  go  after  them.  Nor  am  I  afraid  of  Fopery  for  old  England  ;  I  do  not  think 
she  will  go  back  to  that,  nay,  I  am  sure  she  never  will ;  but  I  a»i  afraid  of  this  deadness,  this  sloth,  this 
indifference,  that  has  come  over  our  churches.  The  Church  wants  shaking,  like  the  man  on  the 
mountain-top  does  when  the  cold  benumbs  him  into  a  deadly  slumber.  The  churches  are  gone  to  sleep 
for  want  of  zeal,  for  want  of  fire.  Even  those  that  hold  sound  doctrine  are  beginning  to  slumber.  Oh, 
may  God  stir  the  Church  up !  One  great  black  cloud,  only  broken  here  and  there  by  a  few  rays  of 
sunlight,  seems  to  be  hanging  over  the  entire  area  of  this  our  happy  island.  But,  beloved,  there  is  this 
comfort,  "the  clouds  are  the  dust  of  His  feet."  God  can  scatter  them  in  a  moment.  He  can  raise  up 
His  chosen  servants,  who  have  only  to  put  their  mouth  to  the  trumpet,  and  one  blast  shall  awake  the 
sleeping  sentinels,  and  startle  the  slumbering  camp.  God  has  only  to  send  out  again  some  earnest 
evangelist,  like  Wesley  or  Whitefield,  and  the  churches  shall  start  up  once  more  ;  and  she,  who  has 
been  clothed  in  sackcloth,  shall  doff  her  robes  of  mourning,  and  put  on  the  garment  of  praise.  The  day 
is  coming,  I  hope,  when  Zion  shall  sit,  not  without  her  diadem ;  but,  with  her  crown  on  her  head,  she 
shall  grasp  her  banner,  take  her  shield,  and,  like  that  heroic  maiden  of  old  who  roused  a  whole  nation, 
shall  go  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer.— C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  preached  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel, 
August  19,  1855. 


^  HATEV'ER  may  be  the  present  condition  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in 


general,  and  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  particular,  it  is  certain 
that,  at  the  time  Mr.  Spurgeon  began  his  ministry  in  London,  the 
state  of  affairs  was  far  from  satisfactory.  Mr.  Horace  Mann's  report 
^-;g^^.::^^'|tJij  on  the  attendance  at  places  set  apart  for  public  worship  proved  that, 
even  in  the  mere  external  observances  of  religion,  there  was  at 
that  period  much  to  be  desired  ;  he  wrote  : — "  Comparing  the  number  of  actual 
attendants  with  the  number  of  persons  ab/e  to  attend,  we  find  that,  ot  10,398,013  (58 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  population)  who  would  be  at  liberty  to  worship  at  one  period  of 
the  day,  there  were  actually  worshipping  but  4,647,482  in  the  morning,  3,184,135  in  the 


ii8 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


afternoon,  and  3,064,449  in  the  evening.  So  that,  taking  any  one  service  of  the  day, 
there  were  actually  attending  pubHc  worship  less  than  half  the  number  who,  as  far  as 
physical  impediments  prevented,  might  have  been  attending.  In  the  morning  there 
were  absent,  without  physical  hindrance,  5,750,531  ;  in  the  afternoon,  7,213,878;  in 
the  evening,  7,333,564.  There  exist  no  data  for  determming  how  many  persons 
attended  twice,  and  how  many  three  times,  on  the  Sunday,  nor,  consequently,  for 
deciding  how  many  attended  altogether  on  sovic  service  of  the  day ;  but  if  we 
suppose  that  half  of  those  attending  service  in  the  afternoon  had  not  been  present  in 
the  morning,  and  that  a  third  of  those  attending  service  in  the  evening  had  not  been 
present  at  either  of  the  previous  services,  we  should  obtain  a  total  of  7,261,032 
separate  persons,  who  attended  service  either  once  or  oftener  upon  the  Census 
Sunday.  But,  as  the  number  who  would  be  able  to  attend  at  so7ne  time  of  the 
day  is  more  than  58  per  cent,  (which  is  the  estimated  number  able  to  be  present  at 
one  and  the  same  time),  probably  reaching  70  per  cent.,  it  is  with  this  latter  number 
(12,549,326)  that  this  7,261,032  must  be  compared  ;  and  the  result  of  such  compari- 
son would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that,  upon  the  Census  Sunday,  5,288,294  persons, 
able  to  attend  religious  worship  once  at  least,  neglected  to  do  so." 

This  was  sufficiently  sad  ;  but  to  those  who  looked  below  the  surface,  to  see  the 
true  spiritual  condition  of  the  people,  the  revelation  was  still  more  depressing.  At 
the  re-opening  of  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  after  the  enlargement,  good  Mr. 
Sherman  said,  in  the  course  of  his  sermon  : — "  It  is  only  here  and  there  that  God  is 
pouring  out  His  Spirit  ;  but  most  of  the  churches  are  lying  like  barges  at  Blackfriars 
Bridge  when  the  tide  is  down, — right  in  the  mud, — and  all  the  king's  horses  and  all 
the  king's  men  cannot  pull  them  off ;  they  need  the  tide  to  turn,  and  the  water  to 
flow,  and  set  them  all  afloat." 

Our  own  denomination  was  not  at  all  in  a  flourishing  condition.  At  the  Baptist 
Union  session,  in  1854,  the  following  resolution  was  passed: — "That  the  Union 
learn,  with  unfeigned  regret,  that  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  churches,  as  shown  by 
the  Association  Returns  of  1853,  is  smaller  than  in  preceding  years,  and  smaller 
than  it  has  been  in  any  year  since  1834, — the  limit  of  the  Union  records, — it  being 
only  at  an  average  of  \\  per  church  per  annum  ; — that,  while  the  impression  made  by 
this  numerical  statement  might  be  somewhat  modified  by  a  regard  to  the  temporary 
causes — such  as  emigration,  for  example, — which  have  operated  to  the  diminution  of 
the  churches  (and  the  statement  cannot  alone  be  taken  as  a  satisfactory  basis  on 
which  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  spiritual  state  of  the  churches),  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Union  it  presents  at  once  an  occasion  for  humiliation  and  a  loud  call  to  united 
activity  and  prayer  ;  the  former  in  every  department  of  the  work  of  the  Lord,  the 
latter  for  the  gracious  outpouring  of  His  Holy  Spirit." 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  II9 

In  London,  the  interest  in  denominational  affairs  had  sunk  so  low  that  The 
Baptist  Messeiiger,  in  reporting  the  meeting  of  the  London  Association  of  Baptist 
Churches,  held  at  the  Mission  House,  October  17,  1855,  said  that  "the  number  in 
attendance,  representing  thirty-three  metropolitan  churches,  consisted  of  nine 
PERSONS, — six  ministers,  and  three  lay-brethren.  Alas  !  '  how  is  the  gold  become 
dim  !  '  Who  can  wonder  at  the  low  state  of  the  churches,  when  the  princes  among 
the  people  are  thus  negligent  and  supine  ?  " 

Three  months  later,  the  same  Magazine  was  able  to  give  a  somewhat  more 
cheering  account  of  the  proceedings  in  connection  with  the  Association  : — 

"  The  annual  meetings  were  held  on  January  9.  In  the  afternoon,  the  Rev. 
James  Harcourt,  of  Regent  Street,  Lambeth,  preached  from  Acts  i.  8.  In  the 
evening,  a  public  meeting  was  held,  at  which  letters  from  the  churches  were  read, 
and  addresses  delivered  by  the  chairman,  the  Rev.  C.  Stovel,  the  Rev.  Joshua 
Russell,  and  the  Rev.  Jonathan  George.  The  letters,  which  were  encouraging, 
reported  a  clear  increase,  during  the  year,  of  207  members,  principally  owing  to  the 
extraordinary  success  attending  the  labours  of  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon." 

The  truth  of  the  last  sentence  is  confirmed  by  the  remarks  of  the  young  Pastor 
when  preaching  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel  on  the  last  Lord's-day  morning  in  1855  ; 
he  said  : — "  Ought  we  to  let  this  year  pass  without  rehearsing  the  works  of  the  Lord  ? 
Hath  He  not  been  with  us,  and  prospered  us  exceeding  abundantly  ?  .  .  .  We  shall 
not  soon  forget  our  sojourn  in  Exeter  Hall, — shall  we?  During  those  months,  the 
Lord  brought  in  many  of  His  own  elect,  and  multitudes,  who  had  been  up  to  that 
time  unsaved,  were  called  by  Divine  mercy,  and  brought  into  the  fold.  How  God 
protected  us  there  !  What  peace  and  prosperity  hath  He  given  to  us  !  How  hath 
He  enlarged  our  borders,  and  multiplied  our  numbers,  so  that  we  are  not  few  ;  and 
increased  us,  so  that  we  are  not  weak  !  I  do  think  we  were  not  thankful  enough  for 
the  goodness  of  the  Lord  which  carried  us  there,  and  gave  us  so  many  who  have 
now  become  useful  to  us  in  our  church.  .  .  Some  old  writer  has  said,  '  Every  hour 
that  a  Christian  remains  a  Christian,  is  an  hour  of  miracle.'  It  is  true  ;  and  every 
year  that  the  church  is  kept  a  united  church,  is  a  year  of  miracle.  This  has  been  a 
year  of  miracles.  Tell  it  to  the  wide,  wide  world  ;  tell  it  everywhere  :  '  The  eyes  of 
the  Lord  '  have  been  upon  us,  '  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  year.'  Two  hundred  and  ten  persons  *  have  this  year  united  with  us  in  church- 
fellowship  ; — about  enough  to  have  formed  a  church.  One  half  the  churches  in 
London  cannot  number  so  many  in  their  entire  body  ;  yet  the  Lord  has  brought  so 
many  into  our   midst.     And  still   they  come  ;    whenever   I    have  an  opportunity   of 

*  It  appears,  from  the  New  Park  Street  church-book,  that  the  number  was  even  larger  than  this.  At  the  end  of  1854,  there 
were  313  names  on  the  roll:  during  1855,  there  was  a  net  increase  of  282;  and  the  following  year  the  net  increase  was  265  ; 
making  the  total  membership  860. 


I20  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

seeing  those  who  are  converted  to  God,  they  come  in  such  numbers  that  many 
have  to  be  sent  away  ;  and  I  am  well  assured  that  I  have  as  many  still  in  this 
congregation  who  will,  during  the  next  year,  come  forward  to  put  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

(N.B. — In  the  next  paragraph,  the  autobiographical  narrative  is  resumed.) 

Great  numbers  of  the  converts  of  those  early  days  came  as  the  direct  result  of 
the  slanders  with  which  I  was  so  mercilessly  assailed.  My  name  was  so  often  reviled 
in  the  public  press  that  it  became  the  common  talk  of  the  street,  and  many  a  man, 
going  by  the  door  of  our  house  of  prayer,  has  said,  "  I'll  go  in,  and  hear  old 
Spurgeon."  He  came  in  to  make  merriment  of  the  preacher  (and  very  little  that 
troubled  hiiii')  ;  but  the  man  stood  there  until  the  Word  went  home  to  his  heart,  and 
he  who  was  wont  to  beat  his  wife,  and  to  make  his  home  a  hell,  has  before  long  been 
to  see  me,  and  has  given  me  a  grip  of  the  hand,  and  said,  "  God  Almighty  bless  you, 
sir  ;  there  is  something  in  true  religion!"  "Well,  let  me  hear  your  tale."  I  have 
heard  it,  and  very  delightful  has  it  been  in  hundreds  of  instances.  I  have  said  to  the 
man,  "  Send  your  wife  to  me,  that  I  may  hear  what  she  says  about  you."  The  woman 
has  come,  and  I  have  asked  her,  "What  do  you  think  of  your  husband  now,  ma'am  ?" 
"  Oh,  sir,  such  a  change  I  never  saw  in  my  life  !  He  is  so  kind  to  us  ;  he  is  like  an 
angel  now,  and  he  seemed  like  a  fiend  before.  Oh,  that  cursed  drink,  sir  !  Every- 
thing went  to  the  public-house  ;  and  then,  if  I  came  up  to  the  house  of  God,  he  did 
nothing  but  abuse  me.  Oh  !  to  think  that  now  he  comes  with  me  on  Sunday  ;  and 
the  shop  is  shut  up,  sir  ;  and  the  children,  who  used  to  be  running  about  without  a 
bit  of  shoe  or  stocking,  he  takes  them  on  his  knee,  and  prays  with  them  so  sweetly. 
Oh,  there  is  such  a  change  !  " 

One  Sabbath  evening,  two  brothers  were  brought  to  the  Lord  at  New  Park 
Street  Chapel  the  very  first  time  they  met  with  us.  These  were  the  circumstances 
of  the  case.  A  widowed  mother  had  two  sons,  who  had  nearly  come  to  man's  estate. 
They  had  been  excellent  children  in  their  boyhood,  but  they  began  to  be  headstrong, 
as  too  many  young  people  are  prone  to  be,  and  they  would  not  brook  maternal 
control  ;  they  would  spend  their  Sunday  as  they  pleased,  and  sometimes  in  places 
where  they  should  not  have  been  seen.  Their  mother  determined  that  she  would 
never  give  up  praying  for  them,  and  one  night  she  thought  she  would  stop  at  home 
from  the  house  of  God,  shut  herself  up  in  her  room,  and  pray  for  her  sons' 
conversion. 

The  very  night  she  had  thus  set  apart  for  prayer  on  their  behalf  the  elder 
son  said  to  her,  "  I  am  going  to  hear  the  minister  that  preaches  down  South- 
wark  way  ;    I  am  told  he  is  an  odd   man,  and   I   want  to  hear  him  preach."     The 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


mother  herself  did  not  think  much  of  that  minister,  but  she  was  so  glad  that  her  boy 
was  going  anywhere  within  the  sound  of  the  Word,  that  she  said,  "  Go,  my  son." 
He  added,  "  My  brother  is  going  with  me."  Those  two  young  men  came  to  the 
house  of  God,  and  that  odd  minister  was  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  both  of  them. 


C.    H.   SPURGEON    IN   THE   PULPIT   AT  NEW    PARK   STREET   CHAPEL. 

When  the  mother  opened  the  door,  on  their  return  home,  the  elder  son  fell  upon 
her  neck,  weeping  as  if  his  heart  would  break.  "  Mother,"  he  said,  "  I  have  found  the 
Saviour  ;  I  am  a  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  She  looked  at  him  a  moment, 
and  then  said,  "  I  knew  it,  my  son  ;  to-night  I  have  had  power  in  prayer,  and  I  felt 
that  I  had  prevailed."  "  But,"  said  the  younger  brother,  "oh,  mother!  I,  too,  have 
been  cut  to  the  heart,  and  I  also  have  given  myself  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
Happy  was  that  mother,  and  I  was  happy,  too,  when  she  came  to  me,  and  said,  "  You 
have  been  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  my  two  sons  ;  I  have  never  thought  of 
baptism  before,  but  I  see  it  now  to  be  the  Lord's  own  ordinance,  so  I  will  be  baptized 
with  my  children."  It  was  my  great  joy  to  lead  the  whole  three  down  into  the  water, 
and  to  baptize  them  "  into  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

Not  only  were  many  converted  who  had  been  indifferent  or  careless  about  their 
souls,  but  I  had  peculiar  joy  in  receiving  not  a  few,  who  had  themselves  been 
numbered  amongst  the  slanderers  and  blasphemers  who  seemed  as  if  they  could  not 
say  anything  cruel  and  wicked  enough  concerning  me,  even  though  they  had  never 
been  to  hear  me.      Many  a  man  has  come  to  me,  when  he  was  about  to  be  added  to 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


the  church,  and  his  first  speech  has  been,  "  Will  you  ever  forgive  me,  sir  ?  "  I  have 
said,  "  Forgive  you  for  what?"  "Why,  because,"  he  has  answered,  "there  was  no 
word  in  the  English  language  that  was  bad  enough  for  me  to  say  of  you  ;  and  yet  I 
had  never  seen  you  in  my  life,  and  I  had  no  reason  for  speaking  like  that.  I  have 
cursed  God's  people,  and  said  all  manner  of  evil  of  them  ;  will  you  forgive  me  ?  " 
My  reply  has  been,  "  I  have  nothing  to  forgive  ;  if  you  have  sinned  against  the 
Lord's  people,  I  am  heartily  glad  that  you  are  ready  to  confess  the  sin  to  God  ;  but  as 
far  as  I  was  concerned,  there  was  no  offence  given,  and  none  taken."  How  glad  I  have 
been  when  the  man  has  said  that  his  heart  was  broken,  that  he  had  repented  of  his 
sins,  that  Christ  had  put  away  all  his  iniquities,  and  that  he  wished  to  follow  the  Lord, 
and  make  confession  of  his  faith  !  I  think  there  is  only  one  joy  I  have  had  greater 
than  this  ;  that  has  been  when  those  converted  through  my  instrumentality  have 
been  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  others.  Constantly  has  this  happened  during 
my  ministry,  until  I  have  not  only  been  surrounded  by  those  who  look  upon  me  as 
their  father  in  Christ,  but  I  have  had  quite  a  numerous  company  of  spiritual  grand- 
children, whom  my  sons  and  daughters  in  the  faith  have  led  to  the  Saviour. 

The  love  that  exists  between  a  pastor  and  his  converts  is  of  a  very  special 
character,  and  I  am  sure  that  mine  was  so  from  the  very  beginning  of  my 
ministry.  The  bond  that  united  me  to  the  members  at  New  Park  Street  was 
probably  all  the  stronger  because  of  the  opposition  and  calumny  that,  tor  a  time  at 
least,  they  had  to  share  with  me.  The  attacks  of  our  adversaries  only  united  us 
more  closely  to  one  another  ;  and,  with  whole-hearted  devotion,  the  people  willingly 
followed  wherever  I  led  them.  I  have  never  brought  any  project  before  them,  or 
asked  them  to  aid  me  in  any  holy  enterprise,  but  they  have  been  ready  to  respond  to 
the  call,  no  matter  what  amount  of  self-sacrifice  might  be  required.  Truly  I  may  say, 
without  the  slightest  flattery,  that  I  never  met  with  any  people,  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
who  lived  more  truly  up  to  this  doctrine — that,  chosen  of  God,  and  loved  by  Him  with 
special  love,  they  should  do  extraordinary  things  for  Him, — than  those  among  whom 
it  has  been  my  privilege  to  minister.  I  have  often  gone  on  my  knees  before  God  to 
thank  Him  for  the  wondrous  deeds  I  have  seen  done  by  some  of  the  Christians  with 
whom  I  have  been  so  long  and  so  happily  associated.  In  service,  they  have  gone 
beyond  anything  I  could  have  asked.  I  should  think  they  would  have  considered 
me  unreasonable  if  I  had  requested  it  ;  but  they  have  done  it  without  request.  At 
the  risk  of  everything,  they  have  served  their  Master,  and  not  only  spent  all  that  they 
could  spare,  but  have  even  spared  what  they  could  ill  aftbrcl  to  devote  to  the  service 
of  Jesus.  Often  have  1  brushed  the  tears  from  my  eyes  when  I  have  received  from 
some  of  them  offerings  for  the  Lord's  work  which  utterly  surpassed  all  my  ideas  of 
giving.  The  consecration  of  their  substance  has  been  truly  apostolic.  I  have 
known  some  who  have,  even  in  their  poverty,  given  all   that  they  had  ;  and  when   I 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  I23 

have  even  hinted  at  their  exceeding  the  bounds  of  prudence,  they  have  seemed  hurt, 
and  pressed  the  gift  again  for  some  other  work  of  the  Master  whom  they  love.  A 
man  once  said  to  me,  "  If  you  want  a  subscription  from  me,  sir,  you  must  get  at  my 
heart,  and  then  you  will  get  at  my  purse."  "  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  I  have  no  doubt  I 
shall,  for  I  believe  that  is  where  your  purse  lies."  But  that  was  not  the  case  with 
the  great  bulk  of  my  dear  friends  at  New  Park  Street  ;  their  hearts  were  in  the  Lord's 
work,  and  therefore  they  generously  gave  of  their  substance  for  the  advancement  oi 
their  Saviour's  Kingdom. 

(Perhaps  the  consecration  and  liberality  of  the  members  can  be  accounted  for,  at 
least  in  part,  by  the  example  set  before  them  from  the  very  first  by  their  young 
minister.  At  the  great  meeting,  held  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  on  Tuesday 
evening.  May  20,  1879,  to  commemorate  the  completion  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  twenty- 
fifth  year  as  Pastor  of  the  church,  Mr.  William  Olney,  in  presenting  the  testimonial 
of  .^6,233,  said,  among  many  other  kind  things: — "After  the  very  able  paper  of 
Mr.  Carr,  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  me  to  say  much  about  our  Pastor.  But  one 
point  demands  most  explicit  utterance  to-night, — a  point  upon  which  he  has  been 
greatly  misunderstood.  The  generosity  of  our  Pastor,  his  self-abnegation,  and  his 
self-denial,  I  will  speak  of  from  a  deacon  s  point  of  view.  I  should  like  it  to  be 
clearly  understood, — for  I  know  the  words  I  utter  will  be  heard  beyond  this  place, 
and  beyond  the  audience  now  listening, —  I  should  like  it  to  be  understood  that,  after 
twenty-five  years'  intimate  fellowship  with  him  on  monev  matters,  I  can  testify  to  this 
one  thing, — whilst  the  world  says,  concerning  him,  that  he  has  made  a  good  thing  of 
it  by  becoming  the  minister  of  this  Tabernacle,  I  can  say  it  is  luc  that  have  made  a 
good  thing  of  it,  and  jwl  he.  The  interests  of  this  church  have  always  been  first 
with  him,  and  personal  interests  have  always  been  second.  Now,  facts  are  stubborn 
things.  Let  me  give  you  a  few  of  them.  When  he  first  came,  at  the  invitation  oi 
the  church,  we  were  a  few  feeble  folk  ;  the  sittings  at  Park  Street  had  for  some  years 
gone  a-begging  ;  the  minister's  salary  was  exceedingly  small,  and  the  difficulty  we 
had  in  keeping  the  doors  open  was  very  great.  Incidental  and  other  expenses  of 
one  sort  and  another  were  a  heavy  burden  upon  the  people.  When  Mr.  Spurgeon 
came,  the  arrangement  between  him  and  the  deacons  was  that,  whatever  the  seat- 
rents  produced,  should  be  his.  Those  seat-rents  had  been  supplemented  in  the  case 
of  all  former  pastorates  by  a  great  number  of  collections,  and  the  hat  had  to  go 
round  frequently,  a  few  having  to  give  at  the  end  of  the  year  to  keep  matters 
straight.  When  Mr.  Spurgeon  came,  the  seats  went  begging  no  longer.  The  seat- 
rents,  as  they  came  in,  all  belonged  to  him.  Did  he  keep  them  ?  No  !  The  first 
thing  he  did,  at  the  close  of  three  months,  was  to  say,  '  Now  we  will  have  no  more 
collections  for  incidental  expenses.      I  will  pay  for  the  cleaning  and  lighting  myself; ' 


124 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


and  from  that  time  till  now  he  has  done  so.  There  has  never  been  a  collection  for 
the  current  incidental  expenses  in  this  Tabernacle,  and  I  believe  there  never  will  be 
as  long  as  he  lives  ; — I  hope  not  until  the  end  of  time.  Now  for  another  important 
fact.  There  was  what  we  might  fairly  call  an  interregnum  between  the  time  that 
this  church  was  worshipping  in  New  Park  Street,  and  its  removal  here.  During 
those  three  years,  we  were  wandering,  in  some  senses  of  the  word.  At  one  part  of 
the  time,  we  worshipped  in  Exeter  Hall,  and  also  in  the  Surrey  Music  Hall.  During 
the  whole  of  that  time,  the  crowds  collected  to  hear  our  Pastor  were  so  great  that 
certain  charges  were  made  for  admission  to  the  several  buildings.  Tickets,  called 
preference  tickets,  were  issued  in  large  numbers  for  the  privilege  of  early  admission 
to  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon,  and  the  whole  of  the  proceeds  legitimately  belonged  to  him. 
Did  he  take  them  .''  Not  one  farthing.  I  speak  from  the  book,  mind  ;  and  such 
facts  ought  to  be  made  known  on  such  nights  as  these.  During  those  three  years, 
Mr.  Spurgeon  paid  over  to  the  treasury  of  this  church,  for  the  building  of  this 
Tabernacle,  just  upon  ;/[^5,ooo,  all  of  which  belonged  to  himself,  for  he  was  fairly  and 
clearly  entitled  to  it.*     That  is  what  we  have  received  at  the  hand  of  our  Pastor. 

"  Now  listen  again.  Our  Pastor  says,  'That  will  do  ;'  but  it  will  not  do  for  me, 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  it  will  do  for  you.  I  want  this  to  be  heard  outside  this 
Tabernacle.  The  report  of  this  great  meeting  will  be  in  the  newspapers,  and  be  read 
by  many  who  do  not  understand  Mr.  Spurgeon,  and  who  do  not  understand  us  ; 
and  I  wish  all  the  world,  reporters  and  everybody  else,  clearly  to  know  that  I  am 
speaking  facts  which  can  be  demonstrated  and  proved.  For  many  years,  the  most 
generous  helper  of  all  the  institutions  connected  with  this  place  of  worship  has  been 
Mr.  Spurgeon.  He  has  set  us  an  example  of  giving.  He  has  not  stood  to  preach 
to  us  here  for  what  he  has  got  by  preaching,  but  he  has  set  an  example  to  every  one 
of  us,  to  show  that  every  institution  here  must  be  maintained  in  full  vigour  and 
strength.  The  repairs  in  connection  with  this  place  of  worship,  the  maintenance  of 
it,  the  management  of  all  its  institutions,  and  of  everything  connected  with  the 
building,  and  the  property,  and  everything  else, — all  has  been  under  his  fostering  care. 


*  Readers  of  Vol.  I.  of  the  Autobiography  may  remember  that  the  total  income  of  the  New  Park  Street  Church  for  the  year 
1853  was  less  than  /■300.  The  followmg  figures  prove  the  truth  of  Mr.  William  Olney's  statement,  and  also  show  how  rapid  and 
how  great  was  the  growth  of  the  finances  after  Mr.  Spurt;eon's  pastorate  commenced  in  April.  1S54 : — 


Church  Receipts. 

Ordinance 

Receipts 

Separate  Services 

Building  and  Enlarge- 

Poor   Fund. 

for  other  purposes. 

Account. 

ment  Account. 

£     s-     d. 

£    s.     d. 

/    s.     d 

£     s-     d. 

£     s-     d. 

1854 

515     5     5 

57  14     4 

1855 

834     7    9 

104   17     6 

74  17     3 

1,359  18     6 

1856 

868     0    9 

140     0     1 

125   10     9 

479     2     3 

229  II     6 

1857 

1,146     8     8 

165     9  10 

255   18     2 

3. 211     4    0 

6,100    0    of 

1858 

1 ,090     2     5 

216   12     I 

213     6  10 

1.956    5     9 

9.639     3  lot 

1859 

1,104  16     2 

222    16      5 

307     3     5 

1,298    9     4 

16,868     6     2t 

f  These  figures  represent  the  amounts  in  hand,  at  the  end  of  each  year,  towards  the  cost  of  the  new  Tabernacle,  and  they 
include  a  large  proportion  of  the  sums  received  on  the  Separate  Services  Account. 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY.  1 25 

Not  only  so,  but  the  proceeds  to  which  he  was  fully  entitled  have  never  been  taken 
by  him  from  the  first  day  until  now,  and  he  does  not  take  them  at  the  present 
moment.  But,  instead  of  that,  I  will  tell  you  what  he  does.  He  told  you,  at  our 
public  meeting,  and  if  he  had  not  told  it  then,  it  deserves  to  be  told  a  dozen  times 
over,  he  has  e.xpended  upon  the  Lord's  work  so  much  of  what  he  has  received  for 
preaching  in  the  Tabernacle  that  he  has,  during  some  of  the  years,  returned  as  much 
as  he  received.  This  does  not  represent  all  we  owe  to  him,  and  it  is  putting  our 
obligation  to  him  on  a  very  low  scale  indeed.  What  we  owe  to  him,  as  a  church,  God 
only  knows.  Why,  sir,  there  are  hearts  here  that  love  you  with  an  intense  affection, 
— an  affection  which  only  eternity  will  fully  reveal  to  you.  We  shall  have  to  tell  you, 
when  time  is  no  more,  ot  the  benefits  and  blessings  conferred  on  our  souls  within 
these  walls,  and  conferred  on  us  as  a  church  and  congregation,  for  words  are  wanting 
to  express  such  obligations  as  these. 

"  1  have  now  to  perform  an  exceedingly  pleasant  duty,  and  I  will  do  it  without 
troubling  you  any  more,  though  this  is  a  theme  on  which  one  might  go  on  for  a  long 
time  yet.  But  I  will  turn  at  once  away  from  this  matter  which  you  will  read  a  great 
deal  more  about,  I  daresay,  in  the  paper  that  is  to  be  published  ;  and  I  will,  as  your 
representative,  speak  to  our  Pastor,  and  beg,  in  your  name,  that  he  will  accept  the 
testimonial  which  it  has  been  our  privilege  and  pleasure  to  raise  for  him,  and  to  put  at 
his  absolute  disposal,  to  commemorate  the  very  happy  event  which  has  gathered  us 
together  in  this  Tabernacle  to-night.  Let  it  go  forth  to  the  world, — I  know  that  I 
am  anticipating  what  Mr.  Spurgeon  himself  is  going  to  say,  but  I  cannot  help  it, — 
he  told  us  last  night,  and  it  is  too  good  to  let  him  speak  of  it  alone  ;  in  the  matter  of 
this  testimonial,  he  says,  '  Not  one  farthing  for  me  ;  you  may  give  it  to  me  for  myself, 
if  you  like,  but  I  will  not  keep  it.  It  shall  all  be  the  Lord's,  and  all  shall  belong  to 
the  Lord's  cause.'  Many  of  you  know  how  it  is  going  to  be  appropriated,  or  our 
Pastor  will  tell  you  presently  as  to  that  point  ;  but,  still,  it  has  been  raised  by  you  as 
an  expression  of  your  love  for  him,  and  I  have  to  hand  it  ov^er  to  him,  in  the  name  of 
the  deacons,  and  in  the  name  of  the  committee,  to  be  at  his  absolute  disposal,  as  a 
gift  without  conditions,  and  as  an  expression  of  our  great  attachment  to  him  and  love 
for  him." 

As  intimated  by  Mr.  William  Olney,  the  Pastor  had  stated,  on  the  previous 
evening,  that  he  would  not  accept  any  part  of  the  testimonial  for  himself ;  on  that 
occasion,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — "  I  shall  simply  make  a  remark  about  the  testimonial. 
My  dear  brethren,  the  deacons,  said  from  the  very  first  that  there  ought  to  be  a 
testimonial  to  me  personally ;  I  mean,  for  my  own  use.  But  I  said  that  it  was  God 
who  had  wrought  so  graciously  with  us,  and  therefore  I  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  a  testimonial  to  me  unless  it  could  be  used  in  His  service.     We  thought  oi  the 


126  C.     H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

almswomen,  whose  support  has  drawn  so  heavily  upon  our  funds,  and  I  felt  that 
it  would  be  of  the  utmost  service  to  the  church  if  we  could  raise  an  endowment  for  the 
support  of  our  poor  sisters.  We  have  built  rooms,  but  have  not  provided  the  weekly 
pensions,  and  I  thought  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  put  this  matter  out  of  hand. 
^5,000  was  suggested  as  the  amount,  and  to  this  object  ^5,000  will  go.  But  you  have 
contributed  ^6,200,  and  I  have  been  considerably  scolded  by  several  friends,  who 
have  declared  that  they  would  have  given  much  more  if  some  personal  benefit  had 
accrued  to  me.  I  am,  however,  obstinate  in  this  matter,  and  it  shall  be  even  as  I 
said  at  the  first,  that  the  whole  of  your  generous  offering  shall  go  to  the  carrying  on 
of  the  work  of  the  Lord  among  you.  It  is  to  God  that  the  honour  belongs,  and  to 
God  shall  the  whole  of  your  offerings  go, — with  this  exception,  that  I  wish  to  raise  a 
memorial  in  the  Almshouses  to  Dr.  Rippon,  the  founder,  and  to  add  to  it  the  record 
ot  the  way  in  which  the  Almshouses  were  e.xtended  and  endowed  :  and,  in  addition, 
there  is  this  much  for  myself,  I  said  that  I  should  like  to  have  in  my  house  a  piece 
of  bronze,  which  should  be  a  memorial  of  your  abiding  love.  This  clock,  with 
candelabra  as  side  ornaments,  will  stand  in  my  home,  and  will  gladden  me,  as  it  calls 
you  to  remembrance.  This  I  shall  greatly  treasure,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  one  or 
other  of  my  sons  will  treasure  it  after  me  :  they  are  so  nearly  of  an  age,  and  so  equal 
in  all  respects,  that  either  of  them  is  worthy  to  be  heir  to  his  father's  valuables. 

"  The  rest  of  the  money  shall  be  devoted  to  various  purposes,  some  of  which  I 
shall  name  to-morrow  ;  but  I  shall  leave  the  amount  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Olney  and  Mr.  Greenwood,  who  are  the  treasurers,  and  they  will  see  that  it  is  so 
used  ;  so  that  all  may  know  and  be  assured  that  not  a  penny  comes  to  me,  but  I 
shall  draw  it  from  them  for  the  different  objects  as  it  is  wanted.  I  shall  have  the 
credit  of  having  received  this  large  sum,  and  I  shall  have  a  corresponding  number  of 
begging  letters  to  get  it  out  of  me,  and  that  will  be  my  personal  gain.  I  daresay 
you  have  all  heard  that  '  Spurgeon  makes  a  good  thing  of  this  Tabernacle.'  Well, 
whenever  anybody  hints  that  to  you,  you  may  on  my  authority  assure  them  that 
I  do.  I  should  not  like  anybody  to  think  that  my  Master  does  not  pay  His  servants 
well.  He  loadeth  us  with  benefits,  and  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  with  His  wages  : 
but  if  any  persons  assert  that,  by  my  preaching  in  this  place,  I  have  made  a  purse 
for  myself,  I  can  refer  them  to  those  who  know  me,  and  my  way  of  life  among  you. 
'  Ah,  but !  '  they  say,  '  he  has  had  a  testimonial  of  ^6,ooc5  presented  to  him.'  Yes,  he 
has  had  it,  and  he  thanks  everybody  for  it.  Perhaps  there  are  some  other  persons 
who  would  like  a  similar  testimonial,  and  I  wish  they  may  get  it,  and  do  the  same 
with  it  as  I  have  done. 

"  Legacies  left  to  me  and  sums  subscribed  for  the  Orphanage  and  College 
and  so  on  are  spoken  of  as  if  I  had  some  private  interest  in  them,  whereas 
I    have   neither  a  direct   nor  indirect  pecuniary  interest  in  any  of  these   works   to 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  12/ 

the  amount  of  a  penny  a  year.  With  regard  to  all  things  else,  from  the  first  day 
until  now,  I  have  acted  on  no  other  principle  but  that  of  perfect  consecration  to  the 
work  whereunto  1  am  called.  I  have  no  riches.  I  sometimes  wish  that  I  had,  for  1 
could  use  money  in  an  abundance  of  profitable  ways.  What  have  I  gained  of  late 
years  in  my  ministry  here  ?  I  have  received  all  that  I  wished  by  way  of  salary,  but  I 
have  for  years  expended  almost  all  of  it  in  the  cause  of  God,  and  in  some  years  even 
more  than  all.  As  far  as  my  pastoral  office  is  concerned,  the  net  income  for  myself, 
after  giving  my  share  to  all  holy  service,  is  not  so  much  that  any  man  need  en\-y  me. 
Yet  this  is  not  your  fault,  or  anyone's  fault,  it  is  my  joy  and  delight  to  have  it  so. 
The  Lord  is  a  good  and  a  gracious  Paymaster  ;  and  inasmuch  as  men  say,  '  Doth 
Spurgeon  serve  God  for  nought  ? '  Spurgeon  replies,  '  No,  he  is  paid  a  thousand 
times  over,  and  finds  it  a  splendid  thing  to  be  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  Je^sus.'  If 
anyone  will  serve  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  after  the  same  or  a  better  fashion,  he  too 
will  make  the  same  s|3lendid  thing  of  it  ;  he  shall  have  splendid  opportunities  for 
working  from  morning  till  night,  and  far  into  the  night  on  many  an  occasion  ; 
splendid  openings  for  giving  away  as  much  as  he  can  earn  ;  splendid  opportunities 
of  finding  happiness  in  making  other  people  happy,  and  easing  the  sorrows  of  others 
by  entering  into  hearty  sympathy  with  them.' 

After  the  presentation,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — "  Dear  friends,  I  thank  you  \-ery, 
very,  very  heartily  for  this  testimonial,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  not  consider  that  I  do 
not  take  it  to  myself  and  use  it  personally,  because  I  hand  it  over  to  works  of  charity, 
for  my  Lord's  work  is  dear  to  me,  and  to  use  it  for  Him,  and  for  His  poor,  is  the 
sweetest  way  of  using  it  for  myself  I  said,  at  the  very  first,  that.  If  a  testimonial 
could  be  made  the  means  of  providing  for  our  aged  sisters  in  the  Almshouses,  I 
would  be  doubly  glad  to  receive  it  ;  and  when  friends  urged  that  they  had  rather 
give  to  me,  I  begged  them  to  let  me  have  my  own  wa)-,  for  surely  a  man  may  have 
his  way  on  his  silver-wedding  day,  if  at  no  other  time.  The  matter  was  commenced 
on  that  footing,  but  I  never  dreamed  that  you  would  give  anything  like  this  rioht 
royal  amount.  Our  communion  fund  has  been  so  heavily  drawn  upon  for  the 
support  ol  the  almswomen  that  we  have  been  embarrassed  in  providing  for  the  very 
large  number  of  poor  persons,  who,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  belong  to  this  church.  I 
hope  we  shall  always  have  a  large  number  of  the  Lord's  poor  among  us,  for  thus  we 
are  able  to  show  kindness  unto  our  Lord  Himself  We  erected  more  almsrooms 
than  we  had  money  for,  and  I  felt  it  to  be  wrong  to  leave  the  church  in  future  years 
with  these  unendowed  houses  ;  for  times  might  come  when  this  extra  burden  could 
not  be  borne,  since  in  these  days  of  our  strength  we  find  it  a  load.  For  such  an 
object,  I  heartily  approved  of  an  endowment.  Endowments  for  the  support  of 
ministers  are  confessedly  a  great  evil,  since  they  enable  a  man  to  keep  among  a 
people  long  after  his  usefulness  is  over  ;  but  no  such  evil  can  arise   in   the  present 


128  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

instance.  ;^5,ooo  was  considered  by  our  dear  friend  Mr.  Greenwood,  who  is  my 
invaluable  guide  in  such  matters,  to  be  about  sufficient  for  our  object.  Therefore 
;^5,ooo  of  this  noble  testimonial  is  hereby  devoted  to  that  end  ;  and  I  have  told  you 
that  all  the  rest  of  the  money  will  be  given  to  the  Lord's  work. 

"  Mr.  William  Olney  said  more  than  enough  about  what  I  have  done  in  money 
matters  :  1  will  only  add  that  I  serve  a  good  Master,  and  am  so  sure  that  He  will 
provide  for  me  that  I  never  thought  it  worth  my  while  to  be  scraping  and  hoarding 
for  myself  When  I  gave  myself  up  at  first  to  be  His  minister,  I  never  expected 
anything  beyond  food  and  raiment  ;  and  when  my  income  was  ^^45  a  year,  I  was 
heartilv  content,  and  never  thought  of  a  need  without  having  it  supplied.  It  is  with 
me  much  the  same  now :  '  I  have  all,  and  abound.'  I  have  only  one  grievance, 
and  that  is,  being  asked-  for  loans  and  gilts  ot  money  when  I  have  none  to  spare. 
Under  the  impression  that  I  am  a  very  rich  man,  many  hunt  me  perpetually  ;  but  I 
wish  these  borrowers  and  beggars  to  know  that  I  am  not  rich.  They  argue  that  a 
man  must  be  rich  if  he  gives  away  large  sums  ;  but,  in  my  case,  this  is  just  the 
reason  why  I  am  not  rich.  When  I  have  a  spare  ^5,  the  College,  or  Orphanage,  or 
Colportage,  or  something  else,  requires  it,  and  away  it  goes.  I  could  very  com- 
fortably do  with  much  more.  Oh,  that  I  could  do  more  for  Christ,  and  more  for 
the  poor  !  For  these,  I  have  turned  beggar  before  now,  and  shall  not  be  ashamed 
to  beg  again.  The  outside  world  cannot  understand  that  a  man  should  be  moved 
by  any  motive  except  that  of  personal  gain  ;  but,  if  they  knew  the  power  of  love 
to  Jesus,  they  would  understand  that,  to  the  lover  of  the  Saviour,  greed  of  wealth  is 
vile  as  the  dust  beneath  his  feet." 

On  June  19,  1884,  when  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Jubilee  was  celebrated,  a  further 
testimonial  oi  ^4,500  was  presented  to  him,  and  he  speedily  gave  this  amount  to  the 
Lord's  work  as  he  had  given  the  previous  ^6,233.) 

In  the  year  1865,  The  Nonconfortnist  newspaper  did  good  service  to  all  sections 
of  the  Christian  Church  by  the  issue  of  a  statistical  statement  as  to  the  religious 
condition  of  London.  At  the  census  of  1861,  the  Government  did  not  collect 
religious  statistics  in  the  same  fashion  as  ten  years  before,  so  The  Nonconformist  did 
well  in  supplying  the  deficiency.  Notwithstanding  all  that  had  been  done  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  ever-increasing  population,  the  destitution  of  the  metropolis  was 
still  appalling.  There  were  some  cheering  signs,  and  Baptists  especially  had  good 
cause  to  take  heart,  and  gird  themselves  for  the  battle  still  before  them.  I  quote 
with  pleasure  the  annexed  tabular  statement,  and  the  note  appended  to  it,  giving 
glory  to  God  that,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  period  referred  to,  He  had  enabled 
us  to  make  some  small  discernible  mark  upon  the  mass  of  ignorance  and  sin 
around  us  : — 


H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


129 


Religious  Denomination. 

1851. 
Sittings. 

1865. 
Sittings. 

Increase 
since  1 85 1. 

Church  of  England 

409.834 

512,067 

102,233 

Congregationalists 

100,436 

130,61  I 

30.175 

Baptists 

54.234 

87.559 

33.325 

Wesleyans  ... 

44,162 

52.454 

8,292 

United  Methodist  Free  Churches 

4,858 

13,422 

8,564 

Methodist  New  Connexion 

984 

6667 

5.683 

Primitive  Methodists 

3.380 

0,230 

5.850 

Church  of  Scotland 

3,886 

5,1  16 

1,230 

English  Presbyterians 

10,065 

12,952 

2,887 

United  Presbyterians 

4,280 

4,860 

580 

Roman  Catholics  ... 

18,230 

31,100 

12,870 

y/^^c.^         Jaii^  ka.,^,  y^^,. 


^^     J^-.^rt::^ 


GROLl'   Ot    BAFnST   MINISTERS   (ABOUT    1S56). 


130  C.      H.     STURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

"  This  table  speaks  for  itself,  and  affords  gratifying  proof  of  the  Christian 
activity  of  the  principal  Free  Churches,  though  that  satisfaction  is  somewhat 
diminished  by  the  increase  being  spread  over  fourteen  years.  The  large  stride 
taken  by  the  Baptists, — under  which  designation  every  section  of  that  denomination 
is  included, — is  unquestionably  due,  in  the  main,  to  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  and 
his  missionary  operations  in  various  parts  of  the  metropolis." 

Another  table  gave  the  statistics  for  our  own  district  of  Newington,  where 
Dissent  had  been  up  to  that  time  singularly  strengthened  ;  the  Baptists  especially, 
durino-  the  fourteen  years  from  185 1  to  1865,  having  increased  far  more  than  all 
the  other  denominations  put  together, — the  one  place  marked  in  the  list  as  Free 
Church  of  England  being  virtually  Baptist,  and  thus  still  further  increasing  our 
total  eain  : — 


1851. 

Population, 

64,816. 

1865. 

Estimated 
Population, 

Increase 

Decrease 

Religious  De.nomination. 

90,050. 

OF  Sittings 

BETWEEN 
1851    AND  1865. 

OF  Sittings 
between 

No    OF 

Places  or 
Worship. 

No.  OF 

Sittings. 

No.  OF 
Places  of 
Worship 

No.  OF 

Sittings. 

1851  and  1865. 

Church  of  England    ... 

6 

6,878 

8 

8,680 

1,802 

Free  Church  of  England 

I 

1,500 

1,500 

ConoreCTationalists 

0         0 

4 

2,822 

3 

2,350 

472 

Baptists 

7 

2,654 

8 

I  1,140 

8,486 

Wesleyans 

2 

1,603 

2 

876 

7-7 

U.  Methodist   Free  Churches 

I 

400 

400 

Primitive  Methodists 

I 

470 

470 

Methodist  New  Connexion  ... 

I 

582 

4 

1,500 

918 

Plymouth  Brethren    ... 

I 

100 

100 

Mixed  and  undefined 

2 

400 

400 

Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church 

I 

400 

I 

400 

Latter  Day  Saints 

I 

60 

60 

Total     ... 

24 

15,399 

30 

27,416 

13.676 

1.659 

CHAPTER    XLV. 


Sttkm  tijc  Souls  of  Wtn. 


I  am  occupied,  in  my  small  way,  as  Mr.  Great-heart  was  employed  in  Bunyan's  day.  I  do  not 
compare  myself  with  that  champion,  but  I  am  in  the  same  line  of  business.  I  am  engaged  in 
personally-conducted  tours  to  Heaven;  and  I  have  with  me,  at  the  present  time,  dear  Old  Father 
Honest :  I  am  glad  he  is  still  alive  and  active.  And  there  is  Christiana,  and  there  are  her  children.  It 
is  my  business,  as  best  I  can,  to  Uill  dragons,  and  cut  off  giants'  heads,  and  lead  on  the  timid  and  trembling. 
I  am  often  afraid  of  losing  some  of  the  weaklings.  I  have  the  heart-ache  for  them  ;  but,  by  Gods  grace, 
and  your  kind  and  generous  help  in  looking  after  one  another,  I  hope  we  shall  all  travel  salely  to  the 
river's  edge.  Oh,  how  many  have  I  had  to  part  with  there !  I  have  stood  on  the  brink,  and  I  have 
heard  them  singing  in  the  midst  of  the  stream,  and  I  have  almost  seen  the  shining  ones  lead  them  up 
the  hill,  and  through  the  gates,  into  the  Celestial  City. — C.  H.  S. 

OFTEN  envy  those  of  my  brethren  -who  can  go  up  to  individuals, 
and  talk  to  them  with  freedom  about  their  souls.  I  do  not  always 
find  myself  able  to  do  so,  though,  when  I  have  been  Divinely 
aided  in  such  service,  I  have  had  a  large  reward.  When  a 
Christian  can  get  hold  of  a  man,  and  talk  thus  personally  to  him, 
it  is  like  one  of  the  old  British  men-of-war  lying  alongside  a 
French  ship,  and  giving  her  a  broadside,  making  every  timber  shiver,  and  at  last 
sending  her  to  the  bottom. 

How  many  precious  souls  have  been  brought  to  Christ  by  the  loving  personal 
exhortations  of  Christian  people  who  have  learned  this  holy  art  !  It  is  wonderiul 
how  God  blesses  very  little  efforts  to  serve  Him.  One  night,  many  years  ago, 
after  preaching,  I  had  been  driven  home  by  a  cabman,  and  alter  I  had  alighted, 
and  given  him  the  fare,  he  took  a  little  Testament  out  of  his  pocket,  and  showing  it 
to  me,  said,  "It  is  about  fifteen  years  since  you  gave  me  that,  and  spoke  a  word  to 
me  about  my  soul.  I  have  never  forgotten  your  words,  and  I  have  not  let  a  day  pass 
since  without  reading  the  Book  you  gave  me."  I  felt  glad  that,  in  that  instance,  the 
seed  had,  apparently,  fallen  into  good  ground. 

Having  promised  to  preach,  one  evening,  at  a  certain  river-side  town,  I  went  to 
the  place  early  in  the  day,  as  I  thought  I  should  like  to  have  a  little  time  in  a  boat 
on  the  river.  So,  hailing  a  waterman,  I  made  arrangements  with  him  to  take  me, 
and,  whilst  sitting  in  the  boat,  wishing  to  talk  with  him  about  religious  matters,  I 
began  the  conversation  by  asking  him  about  his  family.  He  told  me  that  the  cholera 
had  visited  his  home,  and  that  he  had  lost  no  less  than  thirteen  of  his  relatives,   one 


132  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

after  another,  by  death.      My  question,  and  the  man's  answer,  prepared  the  way  for  a 
dialogue  somewhat  in  this  fashion  : — 

Spurgeon. — Have  you,  my  friend,  a  good  hope  of  Heaven  if  you  should  die  ? 

Waterman. — Well,  sir,  I  think  as  how  I  have. 

S. — Pray  tell  me,  then,  what  your  hope  is  ;  for  no  man  need  ever  be  ashamed 
of  a  good  hope. 

W. — Well,  sir,  I  have  been  on  this  here  river  for  five-and-twenty  or  thirty  years, 
and  I  don't  know  that  anybody  ever  saw  me  drunk. 

S. — Oh,  dear  !     Oh,  dear  !     Is  that  all  you  have  to  trust  to  .'' 

W. — Well,  sir,  when  the  cholera  was  about,  and  my  poor  neighbours  were  bad, 
I  went  for  the  doctor  for  'em,  and  was  up  a  good  many  nights  ;  and  I  do  think  as 
how  I  am  as  good  as  most  folk  that  I  know. 

Of  course,  I  told  him  that  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  that  he  had  sympathy  for  the 
SLiftering,  and  that  I  considered  it  far  better  to  be  charitable  than  to  be  churlish  ;  but 
I  did  not  see  how  his  good  conduct  could  carry  him  to  Heaven.     Then  he  said  : — 

"  Well,  sir,  perhaps  it  can't  ;  but  I  think,  when  1  get  a  little  older,  I  shall  give 
up  the  boat,  and  take  to  going  to  church,  and  then  I  hope  that  all  will  be  right,— 
won't  it,  sir.''" 

"  No,"  I  answered,  "  certainly  not  ;  your  going  to  church  won't  change  your 
heart,  or  take  away  your  sins.  Begin  to  go  to  church  as  soon  as  possible  ;  but  you 
will  not  be  an  inch  nearer  Heaven  if  you  think  that,  by  attending  the  sanctuary,  you 
will  be  saved." 

The  poor  man  seemed  perfectly  astounded,  while  I  went  on  knocking  down  his 
hopes  one  after  another.  So  I  resumed  the  dialogue  by  putting  another  question 
to  him  : — 

S. — You  have  sometimes  sinned  in  your  life,  have  you  not .'' 

W. — Yes,  sir,  that  I  have,  many  a  time. 

S. — On  what  ground,  then,  do  you  think  that  your  sins  will  be  forgiven  } 

W. — Well,  sir,  I  have  been  sorry  about  them,  and  I  think  they  are  all  gone  ;- — 
they  don't  trouble  me  now. 

S. — Now,  my  friend,  suppose  you  were  to  go  and  get  into  debt  with  the  grocer 
where  you  deal,  and  you  should  say  to  her,  "  Look  here,  missus,  you  have  a  long 
score  against  me,  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  cannot  pay  you  for  all  those  goods  that 
I  have  had  ;  but  I'll  tell  you  what  I  will  do,  I'll  never  get  into  your  debt  any  more." 
She  would  very  soon  tell  you  that  was  not  her  style  of  doing  business  ;  and  do  you 
suppose  that  is  the  way  in  which  you  can  treat  the  great  God  ?  Do  you  imagine 
that  He  is  going  to  strike  out  your  past  sins  because  you  say  you  will  not  go  on 
sinning  against  Him  } 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  133 

W. — Well,  sir,  I  should  like  to  know  how  my  sins  are  to  be  forgiven.  Are  you 
a  parson  ? 

S. — I  preach  the  gospel,  I  hope,  but  I  do  not  go  by  the  name  of  a  parson  ;  I 
am  only  a  Dissenting  minister. 

Then  I  told  him,  as  plainly  as  I  could,  how  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  taken 
the  place  of  sinners,  and  how  those  who  trusted  in  Him,  and  rested  in  His  blood 
and  righteousness,  would  find  pardon  and  peace.  The  man  was  delighted  with  the 
simple  story  of  the  cross  ;  he  said  that  he  wished  he  had  heard  it  years  belbre,  and 
then  he  added,  "  To  tell  the  truth,  master,  I  did  not  feel  quite  easy,  after  all,  when 
I  saw  those  poor  creatures  taken  away  to  the  graveyard  ;  I  did  think  there  was 
something-  I  wanted,  but  I  did  not  know  what  it  was." 

I  cannot  say  what  was  the  final  result  of  our  conversation  ;  but  I  had  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  I  had  at  least  set  before  him  God's  way  of  salvation  in 
language  that  he  could  easily  understand. 

Sometimes,  I  have  found  it  less  easy,  than  it  might  otherwise  have  been,  to 
influence  certain  persons  for  good,  because  of  the  neglect  of  those  who  ought  to  have 
done  the  work  before  me.  I  was  trying  to  say  a  word  for  my  Master  to  a  coachman, 
one  day,  when  he  said  to  me,  "  Do  you  know  the  Rev.  Mr.  So-and-so?"  "Yes,"  l 
replied,  "  I  know  him  very  well  ;  what  hav^e  you  to  say  about  him  ?  "  "Well,"  said 
the  man,  "he's  the  sort  of  minister  I  like,  and  I  like  his  religion  very  much." 
"  What  sort  of  a  religion  is  it?"  I  asked.  "Why!"  he  answered,  "he  has  ridden 
on  this  bo.x-seat  every  day  for  six  months,  and  he  has  never  said  anything  about 
religion  all  the  while  ;  that  is  the  kind  of  minister  I  like."  It  seemed  to  me  a  very 
doubtful  compliment  for  a  man  who  professed  to  be  a  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

At  other  times,  the  difficulty  in  dealing  with  individuals  has  arisen  from  their 
ignorance  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  When  I  have  spoken  of  my  own  hope  in  Christ 
to  two  or  three  people  in  a  railway  carriage,  I  have  often  found  myself  telling  my 
listeners  perfect  novelties.  I  have  seen  the  look  of  astonishment  upon  the  face  of 
many  an  intelligent  Englishman  when  I  have  e.xplained  the  doctrine  of  the  sub- 
stitutionary sacrifice  of  Christ  ;  I  have  even  met  with  persons  who  had  attended 
their  parish  church  from  their  youth  up,  yet  who  were  totally  ignorant  of  the  simple 
truth  of  justification  by  faith  ;  ay,  and  some  who  have  been  to  Dissenting  places  of 
worship  do  not  seem  to  have  laid  hold  of  the  fundamental  truth  that  no  man  is  saved 
by  his  own  doings,  but  that  salvation  is  procured  by  faith  in  the  blood  and  righteous- 
ness of  Jesus  Christ.  This  nation  is  steeped  up  to  the  throat  in  self-righteousness, 
and  the  Protestantism  of  Martin  Luther  is  very  generally  unknown.  The  truth  is 
held  by  as  many  as  God's  grace  has  called,  but  the  great  outlying  masses  still  talk  of 


134  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

doing  their  best,  and  then  hoping  in  God's  mercy,  and  I  know  not  what  besides 
of  legal  self-confidence  ;  while  the  master-doctrine,  that  he  who  believes  in  Jesus 
is  saved  by  His  finished  work,  is  sneered  at  as  the  utterance  of  misguided 
enthusiasm,  or  attacked  as  leading"  to  licentiousness.  Luther  talked  of  beating  the 
heads  of  the  W'ittenbergers  with  the  Bible,  so  as  to  get  the  great  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  into  their  brains.  But  beating  is  of  no  use  ;  we  must  have 
much  patience  with  those  we  are  trying  to  teach,  and  we  must  be  willing  to  repeat 
over,  and  over,  and  over  again  the  elements  of  truth.  Someone  asked  a 
mother  once,  "  Why  do  you  teach  your  child  the  same  thing  twenty  times  ."^  "  She 
answered,  very  wisely,  "  Because  I  find  that  nineteen  times  are  not  sufficient;"  and 
it  will  often  be  the  same  with  those  who  need  to  be  taught  the  A  B  C  of  the  gospel. 

Though  this  is  a  Protestant  land,  it  is  beyond  all  question  that  there  are  in  it 
people  who  are  Popish  enough  to  perform  great  religious  acts  by  way  of  merit. 
What  a  goodly  row  of  almshouses  was  erected  by  that  miserly  old  grinder  of  the 
poor  as  an  atonement  for  his  hoarding  propensities  !  What  a  splendid  legacy 
somebody  else  left  to  that  hospital  !  That  was  a  very  proper  thing,  but  the  man 
who  left  it  never  gave  a  farthing  to  a  beggar  in  his  life,  and  he  would  not  have  given 
anything  when  he  died  only  he  could  not  take  his  money  with  him,  so  he  left  it  to 
a  charity  as  an  atonement  for  his  sin. 

Sometimes,  persons  are  so  foolish  as  to  think  that  the  doing  of  some 
professedly  religious  act  will  take  them  to  Heaven  ;  attending  church  prayers 
twice  a  day,  fasting  in  Lent,  decorating  the  altar  with  needlework,  putting  stained 
glass  in  the  window,  or  giving  a  new  organ  ;  at  the  suggestion  of  their  priest,  they 
do  many  such  things  ;  and  thus  they  go  on  working  like  blind  asses  in  a  mill,  from 
morning  to  night,  and  making  no  more  real  progress  than  the  poor  donkeys  do. 
Many  who  are  nominally  Christians  appear  to  me  to  believe  in  a  sort  of  sincere- 
obedience  covenant,  in  which,  if  a  man  does  as  much  as  he  can,  Christ  will  do  the 
rest,  and  so  the  sinner  will  be  saved  ;  but  it  is  not  so.  God  will  never  accept  any 
composition  from  the  man  who  is  in  debt  to  Divine  justice  ;  there  is  no  Heavenly 
Court  of  Bankruptcy  where  so  much  in  the  pound  may  be  accepted,  and  the  debtor 
then  be  discharged.  It  must  be  all  or  nothing ;  he  who  would  pay  his  debt 
must  bring  all,  even  to  the  uttermost  farthing  ;  and  that  can  never  be,  for  God's 
Word  declares  that  "by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there  shall  no  fiesh  be  justified  in  His 
sight."  Some  people  have  a  notion  that  going  to  church  and  chapel,  taking  the 
sacrament,  and  doing  certain  good  deeds  that  appertain  to  a  respectable  profession 
of  religion,  are  the  way  to  Heaven.  If  they  are  put  in  the  place  of  Christ,  they  are 
rather  the  way  to  hell  ;  although  it  is  strewn  with  clean  gravel,  and  there  be  grassy 
paths  on  either  side,  it  is  not  the  road  to  Heaven,  but  the  way  to  everlasting  death. 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  135 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  at  the  first  glance,  yet  the  very  fact  that  a  person  has 
been  brought  up  in  a  system  of  error  will,  sometimes,  by  force  of  contrast,  make  it 
all  the  easier  to  bring  home  the  truth  to  the  heart  and  conscience.  I  can  bear 
personal  witness  that  the  simple  statement  of  the  gospel  has  often  proved,  in  God's 
hand,  enough  to  lead  a  soul  into  immediate  peace.  I  once  met  with  a  lady  who  held 
sentiments  of  almost  undiluted  Popery  ;  and  in  conversing  with  her,  I  was  delighted 
to  see  how  interesting  and  attractive  a  thing  the  gospel  was  to  her.  She  complained 
that  she  enjoyed  no  peace  of  mind  as  the  result  of  her  religion,  and  never  seemed  to 
have  done  enough  to  bring  her  any  rest  of  soul.  She  had  a  high  idea  of  priestly 
absolution,  but  it  had  evidently  been  quite  unable  to  yield  repose  to  her  spirit. 
Death  was  feared,  God  was  terrible,  even  Christ  was  an  object  of  awe  rather  than  oi 
love.  When  I  told  her  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Jesus  is  perfectly  forgiven,  and 
that  I  knew  I  was  forgiven, — that  I  was  as  sure  of  it  as  of  my  own  existence,  that 
I  feared  neither  to  live  nor  to  die,  for  all  would  be  well  with  me  in  either  case, 
because  God  had  given  to  me  eternal  life  in  His  Son, — I  saw  that  a  new  set  ot 
thoughts  had  begun  to  astonish  her  mind.  She  said,  "  If  I  could  believe  as  you  do, 
I  should  be  the  happiest  person  in  the  world."  I  did  not  deny  the  inference,  but 
claimed  to  have  proved  its  truth,  and  I  have  reason  to  think  that  the  little  simple  talk 
we  had  has  not  been  forgotten,  or  unprofitable. 

One  advantage  of  dealing  personally  with  souls  is,  that  it  is  not  so  easy  for 
them  to  turn  aside  the  message  as  when  they  are  spoken  to  in  the  mass.  I  have 
often  marvelled  when  I  have  been  preaching.  I  have  thought  that  I  have  exactly 
described  certain  people  ;  I  have  marked  in  them  special  sins,  and  as  Christ's  faithful 
servant,  I  have  not  shunned  to  picture  their  case  in  the  pulpit,  that  they  might  receive 
a  well-deser\^ed  rebuke  ;  but  I  have  wondered  when  I  have  spoken  to  them 
afterwards,  that  they  have  thanked  me  for  what  I  have  said,  because  they  thought  it 
so  applicable  to  another  person  in  the  assembly.  I  had  intended  it  wholly  for  them, 
and  had,  as  I  thought,  made  the  description  so  accurate,  and  brought  out  all  their 
peculiar  points,  that  it  must  have  been  received  by  them.  But,  on  at  least  one 
occasion,  a  direct  word  to  one  of  my  hearers  was  not  only  taken  by  him  in  a  sense  I 
did  not  mean,  but  it  was  resented  in  a  fashion  which  I  did  not  anticipate.  I  felt 
constrained  to  say  that  I  hoped  the  gentleman  who  was  reporting  my  discourse 
would  not  do  it  as  a  mere  matter  of  business  routine,  but  that  he  would  take 
the  Word  as  addressed  to  himself  as  well  as  to  the  rest  of  the  audience.  I  certainly 
did  not  think  there  was  anything  offensive  in  the  remark,  and  I  was  astonished  to  see 
the  reporter  fling  down  his  pen  in  anger,  as  though  resolved  not  to  take  down 
anything  more  that  I  might  say.  Before  long,  however,  his  better  judgment  prevailed, 
he  went  on  with  his  work,  and  the  sermon  duly  appeared  in  The  New  Park  Street 


136  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

Pitlpit, — under  the  circumstances,  of  course,  with  the  omission  of  the  personal 
reference  which  had  unintentionally  caused  offence.* 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  feelings  of  my  hearers,  I  can  honestly  say  that 
scores,  and,  indeed,  hundreds  of  times  I  have  gone  from  my  pulpit  groaning  because 
I  could  not  preach  as  1  wished;  but  this  has  been  my  comfort,  "Well,  I  did  desire 
to  glorify  Christ  ;  1  did  try  to  clear  my  conscience  of  the  blood  of  all  men  ;  I  did  seek 
to  tell  them  the  whole  truth,  whether  they  liked  it  or  not."  It  will  be  an  awful  thing 
for  any  man,  who  has  been  professedly  a  minister  of  Christ,  and  yet  has  not  preached 
the  gospel,  to  go  before  the  bar  of  God,  and  to  answer  for  the  souls  committed  to 
him.  That  ancient  message  still  needs  to  be  heard  ;  "If  the  watchman  see  the 
sword  come,  and  blow  not  the  trumpet,  and  the  people  be  not  warned  ;  if  the  sword 
come,  and  take  any  person  from  among  them,  he  is  taken  away  in  his  iniquity  ;  but 
his  blood  will  I  require  at  the  watchman's  hand."  This  it  is  that  makes  our  work  so 
weighty  that  our  knees  sometimes  knock  together  when  we  are  thinking  of  going  up 
to  our  pulpit  again.  It  is  no  child's  play,  if  there  is  to  be  a  judgment,  and  we  are  to 
answer  for  our  faithfulness  or  unfaithfulness.  What  must  be  our  account  if  we  are  not 
true  to  God  and  to  man  ?  I  have  prayed,  many  a  time,  that  I  might  be  able,  at  the 
end  of  my  ministry,  to  say  what  George  Fox,  the  Quaker,  said  when  he  was  dying, 
"  I  am  clear,  I  am  clear." 

It  has  often  been  a  marvel  to  me  how  some  old  ministers  have  continued  to 
labour  for  twenty,  or  thirty,  or  even  forty  years  in  one  place  without  gathering  any 
fruit  from  all  their  toil.  I  will  not  judge  them, — to  their  own  Master  they  stand  or 
fall  ; — but  if  I  had  been  in  such  a  position,  although  I  should  not  have  dared  to 
leave  the  vineyard  in  which  my  Lord  bade  me  work  while  I  was  yet  a  \outh,  I 
should  have  concluded  that  He  had  need  of  me  in  some  other  part  of  His  field 
where  my  efforts  might  be  more  productive  of  blessing.  I  thank  God  that  I  have 
not  had  to  labour  in  vain,  or  to  spend  my  strength  for  nought.  He  has  given  me  a 
long-  period  of  happy  and  successful  service,  for  which,  with  all  my  heart,  I  praise 
and  magnify  His  holy  Name.  There  has  been  a  greater  increase  sometimes,  or  a 
little  diminution  now  and  then  ;  but,  for  the  most  part,  the  unbroken  stream  of 
blessing  has  run  on  at  much  the  same  rate  all  the  while.  It  has  ever  been  my 
desire,  not  to  "  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  proselytes"  from  other  denominations  ; 
but  to  gather  into  our  ranks  those  who  have  not  been  previously  connected  with  any 
body  of  believers,  or,  indeed,  who  have  attended  any  house  of  prayer.      Of  course, 

*  Mr.  Passmore  preserved  a  letter,  written  to  himself  by  Mr.  Spurgeon,  in  which  there  was  the  following  allusion  to  the 

incident  here  described  : — "  You  may  tell  Mr.  that  I  was  so  far  from  intending  to  insult  him  by  what  I  said  that  I  uttered  the 

sentence  in  the  purest  love  for  his  soul ;  and  that  I  dare  not  be  unfaithful  to  him  any  more  than  to  anyone  else  in  my  congregation. 
God  is  my  witness,  how  earnestly  I  long  for  the  salvation  of  all  my  hearers,  and  I  would  far  rather  err  by  too  great  personality  than 
by  unfaithfulness.  At  the  last  great  day.  none  of  us  will  be  offended  with  Christ's  ministers  for  speaking  plainly  to  us.  I  am  sorry 
that  Mr. was  vexed,  and  have  prayed  that  the  sermon  may  be  blessed  to  him." 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  1 37 

many  persons  have  joined  us  from  other  communities,  when  it  has  seemed  to  them  a 
wise  and  right  step  ;  but  I  should  reckon  it  to  be  a  burning  disgrace  if  it  could  be 
truthfully  said,  "  The  large  church  under  that  man's  pastoral  care  is  composed  of 
members  whom  he  has  stolen  away  from  other  Christian  churches  ;  "  but  I  value 
beyond  all  price  the  godless  and  the  careless,  who  have  been  brought  out  from  the 
world  into  communion  with  Christ.  These  are  true  prizes, — not  stealthily  removed 
from  friendly  shores,  but  captured  at  the  edge  of  the  sword  from  the  enemy's 
dominions.  We  welcome  brethren  from  other  churches  if,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
they  are  drifted  into  our  midst  ;  but  we  would  never  hang  out  the  wrecker's  beacon, 
to  dash  other  churches  in  pieces  in  order  to  enrich  ourselves  with  the  wreckage.  Far 
rather  would  we  be  busy,  looking  after  perishing  souls,  than  cajoling  unstable  ones 
from  their  present  place  of  worship.  To  recruit  one  regiment  from  another,  is  no 
real  strengthening  of  the  army  ;  to  bring  in  fresh  men,  should  be  the  aim  ot  all. 

From  the  very  early  days  of  my  ministry  in  London,  the  Lord  gave  such  an 
abundant  blessing  upon  the  proclamation  of  His  truth  that,  whenever  I  was  able  to 
appoint  a  time  for  seeing  converts  and  enquirers,  it  was  seldom,  if  ever,  that  I  waited 
in  vain  ;  and,  usually,  so  many  came,  that  I  was  quite  overwhelmed  with  gratitude 
and  thanksgiving  to  God.  On  one  occasion,  I  had  a  very  singular  e.xperience,  which 
enabled  me  to  realize  the  meaning  of  our  Lord's  answer  to  His  disciples'  question  at 
the  well  of  Sychar,  "  Hath  any  man  brought  Him  aught  to  eat.''  Jesus  saith  unto 
them,  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  and  to  finish  His  work.  " 
Leaving  home  early  in  the  morning,  I  went  to  the  chapel,  and  sat  there  all  day  long 
seeing  those  who  had  been  brought  to  Christ  through  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 
Their  stories  were  so  interesting  to  me  that  the  hours  flew  by  without  my  noticing 
how  fast  they  were  going.  I  may  have  seen  some  thirty  or  more  persons  during 
the  day,  one  after  the  other ;  and  I  was  so  delighted  with  the  tales  of  mercy 
they  had  to  tell  me,  and  the  wonders  of  grace  God  had  wrought  in  them,  that  I  did 
not  know  anything  about  how  the  time  passed.  At  seven  o'clock,  we  had  our  prayer- 
meeting  ;  I  went  in,  and  prayed  with  the  brethren.  After  that,  came  the  church- 
meeting.  A  little  before  ten  o'clock,  I  felt  faint  ;  and  I  began  to  think  at  what  hour 
I  had  my  dinner,  and  I  then  for  the  first  time  remembered  that  I  had  not  had  any  !  I 
never  thought  of  it,  I  never  even  felt  hungry,  because  God  had  made  me  so  glad,  and 
so  satisfied  with  the  Divine  manna,  the  Heavenly  food  of  success  in  winning  souls. 

I  am  not  sure  that  I  ever  had  another  day  quite  like  that  ;  but  I  had  much  to 
interest  me,  and  sometimes  a  good  deal  to  humble  me,  in  the  different  cases  with 
which  I  had  to  deal.  I  have  seen  very  much  of  my  own  stupidity  while  in  conversation 
with  seeking  souls.  I  have  been  baffled  by  a  poor  lad  while  trying  to  bring  him  to 
the  Saviour  ;   I  thought  I  had  him  fast,  but  he  has  eluded  me  aoain  and  aorain  with 


138  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

perverse    ingenuity   of    unbelief.       Sometimes,    enquirers,    who    are    really    anxious, 
surprise  me  with  their  singular  skill  in  battling  against  hope  ;  their  arguments  are 
endless,  and  their  difficulties  countless.      They  have  put  me  to  a  nonplus  again  and 
again.     The  grace  of  God  has  at  last  enabled  me  to  bring  them  to  the  light,  but  not 
until   I   have  seen  my  own  inefficiency,  and  realized  that,  without  the  Holy  Spirit's 
aid,  I  should  be  utterly  powerless  to  lead  them  into  the  liberty  of  the  gospel.     Occa- 
sionally,  I  have  met  with  a  poor  troubled  soul  who  has  refused  to  be  comforted. 
There  was  one  good  Christian  man  who,  through  feebleness  of  mind,  had  fallen  into 
the    deepest    despair ;    I    have   hardly   ever  met   with    a    person   in   such    an    awful 
condition  as  he  was,  and  it  puzzled  me  to  give  him  any  sort  of  comfort  ;  indeed,  I  fear 
that  I  failed  to  do  so  after  all.      He  said,  "  I'm  too  big  a  sinner  to  be  saved."     So   I 
told  him  that  God's  Word  says,  "the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ   His  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin."      "  Ay  !  "  he  replied,  "but  you  must  remember  the  context,  which  is, 
■  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another, 
and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.'    Now,  I  do  not  walk 
in  the  light ;  I  walk  in  the  dark,  and  I  have  no  fellowship  with  the  people  of  God 
now,  and  therefore  that  passage  does  not  apply  to  me."      "  Well,"   I   rejoined,  "  but 
Christ   is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  them  that  come  unto  God  by   Him." 
"  That   is   the  only  text,"  he  admitted,    "  I   never  can  get  over,  for  it  says   '  to  the 
uttermost,"  and  I  know  I  cannot  have  gone  beyond  that ;  yet  it  does  not  yield  me  any 
comfort."     I  said,  "  But  God  asks  nothing  of  you  but  that  you  will  believe  Him  ;  and" 
you  know,  if  you  have  ever  so  feeble  a  faith,  you  are  like  a  child, — the  feeble  hand  of 
a  child  can  receive,  and  that  is  the  mark  of  a  Christian  :   '  of  His  fulness  have  all  we 
received,'  and  if  you  only  receive  with  your  hand,  that  is  enough."      "Ay!  "  said  he, 
"  but  I  have  not  the  hand  of  faith."      "  Very  well,"  I   answered,    "  but  you  have  the 
mouth  of  desire  ;  you  can  ask  with  your  lips  if  you  cannot  receive  with  your  hand." 
"  No,"  said  he,  "  I  do  not  pray,  and  I  cannot  pray  ;   I  have  not  the  mouth  of  desire." 
"  Then,"  I  pleaded,  "  all  that  is  wanted  is  an  empty  place,  a  vacuum,  so  that  God 
can  put  the  grace  in."     "  Ah,  sir  !  "  said  he,  "  you  have  me  there  ;   I  have  a  vacuum  ; 
I  have  an  aching  void  ;  if  there  was  ever  an  empty  sinner  in  this  world,  I  am  one." 
"Well,"  I  exclaimed,  "  Christ  will  fill  that  vacuum  ;  there  is  a  full   Christ  for  empty 
sinners,"  and  there  I  had  to  leave  the  matter.  ,» 

Very  often,  when  enquirers  have  come  to  me  to  relate  the  story  of  their  spiritual 
history,  they  have  told  their  little  tale  with  an  air  of  the  greatest  possible  wonder, 
and  asked  me,  as  soon  as  they  have  finished  it,  whether  it  is  not  extremely  unusual. 
One  has  said,  "  Do  you  know,  sir,  I  used  to  be  so  happy  in  the  things  of  the  world, 
but  conviction  entered  into  my  heart,  and  I  began  to  seek  the  Saviour  ;  and  for  a 
long  time,  when    I  was   under  concern  of  soul,   I  was   so  miserable  that   I  could  not 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  1 39 

bear  myself.  Surely,  sir,  this  is  a  strange  thing  ? "  And  when  I  have  looked  the 
friend  in  the  face,  and  said,  "No,  it  is  not  at  all  strange  ;  I  have  had  a  dozen  people 
here  to-night,  and  they  have  all  told  me  the  same  tale  ;  that  is  the  way  almost  all 
God's  people  go  to  Heaven," — he  has  stared  at  me,  as  if  he  did  not  think  I  would 
tell  an  untruth,  but  as  if  he  thought  it  the  queerest  thing  in  the  world  that  anybody 
else  should  have  felt  as  he  had  done. 

"  Now,  sit  down,"  I  say  sometimes,  when  I  am  seeing  an  enquirer  or  a  candidate 
for  church-membership,  "  and  I  will  tell  you  what  were  my  feelings  when  I  first 
sought  and  found  the  Saviour."  "  Why,  sir  !  "  he  exclaims,  "  that  is  just  how  I  have 
felt  ;  but  1  did  not  think  anyone  else  had  ever  gone  over  the  same  path  that  I  have 
trodden."  It  is  no  wonder  that,  when  we  have  little  acquaintance  with  each  other's 
spiritual  experience,  our  way  should  seem  to  be  a  solitary  one  ;  but  he  who  knows 
much  of  the  dealings  of  God  with  poor  seeking  sinners,  is  well  aware  that  their 
experiences  are,  in  the  main,  very  much  alike. 

Sometimes,  a  desperate  case  requires  a  desperate  remedy.  I  had  once  to  deal 
with  a  man  who  assented  to  everything  I  said.  When  I  talked  about  the  evil  of  sin, 
he  agreed  with  me,  and  said  that  I  was  very  faithful.  When  I  set  before  him  the 
way  of  salvation,  he  assented  to  it,  but  it  was  evident  that  his  heart  was  not  affected 
by  the  truth.  I  could  almost  have  wished  that  he  had  flatly  denied  what  I  said,  for 
that  would  have  given  me  the  opportunity  of  arguing  the  matter  with  him,  and 
pressing  him  to  come  to  a  decision.  At  last,  I  felt  that  it  was  quite  hopeless  to  talk 
to  him  any  longer,  so  I  said,  "  The  fact  is,  one  of  these  days  you  will  die,  and  be 
damned," — and  1  walked  away  without  saying  another  word.  As  I  expected,  it  was 
not  very  long  before  he  sent  for  me,  and  when  I  went  to  him,  he  begged  me  to  tell 
him  why  I  had  said  such  a  dreadful  thing  to  him.  I  answered,  "  It  seems  quite 
useless  for  me  to  talk  to  you  about  the  salvation  oi  your  soul,  for  you  never  appear 
to  feel  the  force  of  anything  that  I  say.  I  might  almost  as  well  pour  oil  down  a  slab 
of  marble  as  expect  you  to  be  impressed  by  the  truth  that  I  set  before  you,  and  my 
solid  conviction  is  that  you  will  be  damned."  He  was  quite  angry  with  me  for 
speaking  so  plainly  ;  and  I  went  away  again,  leaving  him  very  cross.  Before  many 
hours  were  over,  he  was  in  an  awful  state  of  mind  ;  the  Holy  Spirit  had  convinced 
him  of  his  state  as  a  sinner,  and  he  was  in  an  agony  of  soul.  That  sharp  sentence 
of  mine  was  like  the  hook  in  a  fish's  gills,  but  that  fish  was  landed  all  right.  The 
man  was  brought  to  repentance  and  faith  ;  he  was  baptized,  joined  the  church,  and 
a  few  years  ago  went  home  to  Heaven. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 


t  f^cbj  ScIjDol  of  tjje  ^Propljtts 

At  the  close  of  his  sermon  on  i  Cor.  ix.  16,  -  "  For  though  I  preach  the  gospel,  I  have  nothing  to 
glory  of :  for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me;  yea,  woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel!" — delivered 
in  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  on  Lord's-day  morning,  August  5,  1S55,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said :—"  Now,  my 
dear  hearers,  one  word  with  you.  There  are  some  persons  in  this  audience  who  are  verily  guilty  in  the 
sight  of  God  because  they  do  not  preach  the  gospel.  I  cannot  think,  out  of  the  fifteen  hundred  or  two 
thousand  persons  now  present  within  the  reach  of  my  voice,  there  are  none  beside  myself  who  are 
qualified  to  preach  the  gospel.  I  have  not  so  bad  an  opinion  of  you  as  to  imagine  myself  to  be  superior 
to  one-half  of  you  in  intellect,  or  in  the  power  of  preaching  God's  Word;  and  even  supposing  I  should 
be,  I  cannot  believe  that  I  have  such  a  congregation  that  there  are  not  among  you  many  who  have  gifts 
and  talents  that  qualify  you  to  preach  the  Word.  ...  I  cannot  conceive  but  that  there  are  some  here, 
this  morning,  who  are  flowers  'wasting  their  sweetness  on  the  desert  air,'  'gems  of  purest  ray  serene' 
lying  in  the  dark  caverns  of  ocean's  oblivion.  This  is  a  very  serious  question.  If  there  be  any  talent 
in  the  church  at  Park  Street,  let  it  be  developed.  If  there  are  any  preachers  in  my  congregation, 
let  them  preach.  Many  ministers  make  it  a  point  to  check  young  men  in  this  respect.  There  is  my 
hand,  such  as  it  is,  to  help  any  one  of  you  if  you  think  you  can — 

" '  Tell  to  sinners  round, 
What  a  dear  Saviour  you  have  found.' 

I  would  like  to  find  scores  of  preachers  among  you.  'Would  God  that  al!  the  Lord's  people  were 
prophets ! '  There  are  some  here  who  ought  to  be  prophets,  only  they  are  half  afraid  ; — well,  we  must 
devise  some  scheme  for  getting  rid  of  their  bashfulness.  I  cannot  bear  to  think  that,  while  the  devil  sets 
all  his  servants  to  work,  there  should  be  one  servant  of  Jesus  Christ  asleep.  Young  man,  go  home  and 
examine  thyself;  see  what  thy  capabilities  are,  and  if  thou  findest  that  thou  hast  ability,  then  try  in 
some  humble  room  to  tell  to  a  dozen  poor  people  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  You  need  not  aspire 
to  become  absolutely  and  solely  dependent  upon  the  ministry  ;  but  if  it  should  please  God,  desire  even 
that  high  honour.  '  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,  he  desireth  a  good  work.'  At  any  rate,  seek 
in  some  way  to  proclaim  the  gospel  of  God.  I  have  preached  this  sermon  especially  because  I  long  to 
commence  a  movement  from  this  place  which  shall  reach  others.  I  want  to  find  some  in  my  church,  if 
it  be  possible,  who  will  preach  the  gospel.  And  mark  you,  if  you  have  talent  and  power,  woe  is  unto 
you,  if  you  preach  not  the  gospel !  " 

T  was  most  appropriate  that  the  Institution,  which  was  destined  to 
be  used  by  God  as  a  means  of  training  many  hundreds  of  soul- 
winners,  should  itself  have  been  brought  into  e.xistence  as  the  direct 
result  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  successful  eftort  to  win  the  soul  of  one 
young  and  earnest  enquirer.  Happily,  that  early  convert, — now 
Pastor  T.  W.  Medhurst, — after  serving  in  the  ministry  of  the 
gospel  for  more  than  forty  years  in  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  is  still 
spared  to  labour  for  the  Lord  at  Hope  Baptist  Chapel,  Canton,  Cardiff;  and  he  has 
kindly  written  for  this  work  a  fuller  and  more  accurate  account  of  the  events  that  led 
to  the  founding  of  the  Pastors'  College  than  has  ever  before  appeared  in  print. 
Mr.  Medhurst  says  : — 

"  I  first  saw  and  heard  dear  Mr.  Spurgeon  before  he  was  reeilly  elected   to  the 


142  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

pastorate  of  the  New  Park  Street  Church  ;  it  was  in  the  early  part  of  1854,  at  Maze 
Pond  Chapel,  at  a  Sunday-school  anniversary  meeting.  I  was  very  much  struck 
with  the  address  he  delivered  on  that  occasion.*  I  was,  at  that  time,  a  seat-holder 
at  the  old  Surrey  Tabernacle,  where  James  Wells  was  pastor.  The  first  sermon  I 
heard  Mr.  Spurgeon  preach  was  from  Hosea  vi.  3  :  '  Then  shall  we  know,  if  we 
follow  on  to  know  the  Lord.'  Well  do  I  remember  the  opening  sentence  of  the 
discourse  : — '  You  observe,  dear  friends,  that  the  "  //""  is  in  italics  ;  it  is  not  in  the 
original,  so  we  will  substitute  "as"  in  its  place.  There  is  no  "if"  in  the  matter; 
once  begin  "  to  know  the  Lord,"  and  it  is  certain  that  you  will  "  follow  on  "  to  know 
Him.'     That  sermon  convinced  me  of  sin. 

"  I   continued   to  listen   to   Mr.  Spurgeon,  and,  after  a  while,  in  soul-trouble,  I 
wrote  to  him  the  following  letter  : — 

"  Mr.  Porter's  Rope  Factory, 

"  Blue  Anchor  Road, 

"  Rotherhithe, 

"Sunday,  July  2nd,  1854. 
"  Dear  .Sir, 

"Will  you  be   kind  enough  candidly  to   inform   me  whether  I  have  any 

room  for  hope  that   I   belong  to  the  elect  family  of  God,  whether  Jesus  Christ   His 

Son   has  died   for  me,  while   my   affections   are   in   the   world  ?     I    try   to  pray,   but 

cannot.      I  make  resolutions  only  to  break  them.      I  from  time  to  time  listen  to  you 

when  you  speak  of  the  glory  set  apart  for  the  saints,  when  you  describe  their  joys 

and  their  feelings,  but  I  feel  myself  as  having  nothing  to  do  with   them.      O  sir,  that 

Sunday  morning  when  you  spoke  of  the  hypocrite,  I  felt  that  you  described  me  !      I 

go  to  chapel  to  hear  the  Word  preached,  I  return  home,  and  make  resolutions  ;   I  go 

to  work,  then  out  into  the  world,  and  forget  all   until  the  time  for  preaching  comes 

again.      I  read  the  Bible,  but  do  not  feel  interested  ;  it  seems  no  more  to  me  than  a 

book  I  have  before  read, — dry  and  insipid.      Christ  has  said  that,  of  all  who  come  to 

Him,  He  will  not  send  any  away.      How  am  I  to  come  }     I  feel  that  I  cannot  come. 

I  would  if  I  could,  but  I  cannot.      At  times,  I   think  that  I  will  give  it  all  up,  that   I 

*  Mr.  John  Eastty,  who  had  been  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1896,  the  senior  deacon  at  Maze  Pond  Chapel,  sent 
to  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  in  1893,  his  personal  recollections  of  her  dear  husband,  in  which  there  was  the  following  reference  to  this 
meeting  :— "  The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Archibald  G.  Brown  was  in  the  chair.  Mr.  William  Olney  had  introduced  Mr.  Spurgeon  to 
us,  knowing  that  he  would  help  the  cause  by  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  school.  What  a  stripling  he  then  was  !  What  an 
impression  he  made  !  It  was  then  that  he  related  the  difficulty  he  felt,  when  a  child,  as  to  how  the  apple  got  through  the  narrow 
neck  of  the  bottle  (see  Autobiography,  Vol.  I.,  page  15),  and  made  the  application,  '  So,  then,  you  must  put  it  in  while  it  is  a  little 
one  !  '  And,  again,  at  about  the  same  period,  he  preached  a  sermon  in  the  same  chapel,  one  Sunday  afternoon,  for  one  of  the 
societies,  when  my  mother  pronounced  judgment  on  him,  and  said,  '  He  will  be  a  second  Whitefield  !  '  The  minister  of  Maze 
Pond,  the  Rev.  John  Aldis,  at  once  foresaw  for  him  a  very  distinguished  career,  and  was  the  first  amongst  the  London  ministers  who 
took  him  by  the  hand;  and  Mr.  Spurgeon  never  forgot  it,  for  he  was  not  so  generally  well  received  by  his  brethren.  Most  of 
what  was  said  by  them,  is  better  forgotten,  for  nearly  all  of  them  came  round  to  him  at  last ;  but,  at  a  devotional  meeting  where  Mr. 
Spurgeon  had  been  invited  to  be  present,  a  London  pastor  prayed  for  '  our  young  friend,  who  has  so  much  to  learn,  and  so 
much  to  unlearn.'  The  narrator  of  this  told  me,  however,  that  it  did  not  at  all  affect  him,  nor  did  he  betray  the  least  feeling  of 
annoyance." 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  1 43 

will  not  go  to  chapel  any  more  ;  yet  when  the  time  comes,  I  cannot  stay  away,  but 
feel  compelled  to  go  again  once  more.  Do,  dear  sir,  tell  me,  how  am  I  to  find 
Jesus  ^  How  am  I  to  know  that  He  died  for  me,  and  that  I  belong  to  His  family? 
Dear  sir,  tell  me,  am  I  a  hypocrite  ? 

"  I  remain, 

"  Dear  sir, 

"  Yours  to  serve  in  anxiety, 

"  T.  W.    Medhurst." 

"  In  reply,  I  received  from  Mr.  Spurgeon  this  letter,  which  gready  helped  me 
at  the  time,  and  which  1  still  prize  more  than  1  can  tell  : — 

"  75,  Dover  Road, 

"  Borough, 

"  July  14th,  1S54. 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  have  been  able  to  write  to  me  and  state  your 
feelings.  Though  my  hands  are  always  full,  it  will  ever  give  me  joy  to  receive  such 
notes  as  yours. 

"You  ask  me  a  very  important  question,  Arc  you  one  of  Gods  c/cct  ?  Now, 
this  is  a  question  neither  you  nor  I  can  answer  at  present,  and  therefore  let  it  drop. 
I  will  ask  you  an  easier  one,  '  Are  yo2i  a  sinner  ? '  Can  you  say,  '  Yes  ^  All  say, 
'  Yes'  ;  but  then  they  do  not  know  what  the  word  'sinner'  means. 

"  A  sinner  is  a  creature  who  has  broken  all  his  Maker's  commands,  despised 
His  Name,  and  run  into  rebellion  against  the  Most  High.  A  sinner  deserves  hell, 
yea,  the  hottest  place  in  hell  ;  and  if  he  be  saved,  it  must  be  entirely  by  unmerited 
mercy.  Now,  if  you  are  such  a  sinner,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  tell  you  the  only 
way  of  salvation,  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus.' 

"  I  think  you  have  not  yet  really  understood  what  believing  means.  You  are, 
I  trust,  really  awakened,  but  you  do  not  see  the  door  yet.  I  advise  you  seriously  to 
be  much  alone,  I  mean  as  much  as  you  can  ;  let  your  groans  go  up  if  you  cannot 
pray  ;  attend  as  many  services  as  possible  ;  and  if  you  go  with  an  earnest  desire  for 
a  blessing,  it  will  come  very  soon.  But  why  not  believe  now  ?  You  have  only  to 
believe  that  Jesus  is  able  and  willing  to  save,  and  then  trust  yourself  to  Him. 

"  Harbour  not  that  dark  suggestion  to  forsake  the  house  of  God  ;  remember 
you  turn  your  back  on  Heaven,  and  your  face  to  hell,  the  moment  you  do  that.  I 
pray  God  that  He  will  keep  you.  If  the  Lord  had  meant  to  destroy  you.  He  would 
not  have  showed  you  such  things  as  these.  If  you  are  but  as  smoking  fla.x,  there 
is  hope.     Touch  the  hem  of  His  garment  ;  look  to  the  brazen  serpent. 


144  c.    H     spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  My  dear  fellow  sinner,  slight  not  this  season  of  awakening.  Up,  and  be  in 
earnest  It  is  your  soul,  your  own  soul,  your  eternal  welfare,  your  Heaven  or  your 
hell,  that  is  at  stake. 

"There  is  the  cross,  and  a  bleeding  God-man  upon  it  ;  look  to  Him,  and  be 
saved  !  There  is  the  Holy  Spirit  able  to  give  you  every  grace.  Look,  in  prayer,  to 
the  Sacred  Three-one  God,  and  then  you  will  be  delivered. 

"  I  am, 

"  Your  anxious  friend, 
'Write  again."  "C.  H.  Spurgeon." 

"  I  was  set  at  liberty  under  a  Thursday  evening  sermon  from  the  text 
John  vi.  2,7  '■  'All  that  the  Father  giveth  Me  shall  come  to  Me  ;  and  him  that  cometh 
to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out  ;'  and  then  I  did  'write  again,'  telling  Mr.  Spurgeon 
of  my  conversion,  and  of  my  desire  to  be  baptized,  and  to  join  the  church.  This 
was  his  reply  to  my  letter  : — 

"  75,  Dover  Road, 

"  August  7th,  1854. 
"  My  Dear  Sir, 

"  Your  letters  have  given  me  great  joy.  I  trust  I  see  in  you  the  marks  of 
a  son  of  God,  and  I  earnestly  pray  that  you  may  have  the  evidence  within  that  you 
are  born  of  God 

"There  is  no  reason  why  you  should  not  be  baptized.  '  If  thou  believest  with 
all  thine  heart,  thou  mayest.'  Think  very  seriously  of  it,  for  it  is  a  solemn  matter. 
Count  the  cost.  You  are  now  about  to  be  buried  to  the  world,  and  you  may  well 
say,  '  What  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness.' 
The  friends  who  were  with  you  in  the  days  of  your  carnal  pleasure  will  strive  to 
entice  you  from  Christ  ;  but  I  pray  that  the  grace  of  God  may  be  mightily  manifest 
in  you,  keeping  you  steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
"  I  should  like  to  see  you  on  Thursday  evening,  after  six  o'clock,  in  the  vestry. 

"  I  am, 

"  Yours  faithfully, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon.' 

(Of  this  interview,  Mr.  Spurgeon  preserved  the  following  record  in  the  book 
containing  his  notes  concerning  applicants  for  baptism  and  church-membership  : — 

"  Thomas  William  Medhurst. 
A  very  promising  young  man, — his  letters  to  me  evince  various  degrees  of  progress 
in  the  pilgrims'  road.      He  has  been  very  anxious,  but  has  now,  I  trust,  found  refuge 
m  the  Rock  of  aoes.") 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGR.A.PHY. 


145 


"On  September  2S,  1854,  the  beloved  Pastor  baptized  me  at  New  Park  Street 
Chapel,  and  in  due  course  I  was  received  into  the  church.  I  at  once  began  to 
preach  in  the  open  air  and  elsewhere,  though  I  had  not  then  any  idea  of  entering 
the  ministry.  Two  persons,  who  became  members  at  New  Park  Street  through  my 
preaching,  led  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  suggest   that   I   should  seek  to   prepare   myself  for 


T.   W.    JIEDHURST. 


REV.   c     H.    HOSKEN. 


MILL   ROAD   COLLEGIATE   SCHOOL,    BE.XLEY   HEATH,    KENT. 


pastoral  work.  I  was  just  then  out  of  my  apprenticeship,  and  not  quite  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  so  I  gladly  consented  to  the  proposal,  and  arrangements  were  made,  in 
July,  1855,  for  me  to  go  to  reside  with  Rev.  C.  H.  Hosken,  who  was  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Crayford,  but  who  lived  at  the  Mill  Road  Collegiate  School, 
Bexley  Heath,  Kent. 


1^6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  Once  a  week,  I  had  the  privilege  of  spending  several  hours  with  Mr.  Spurgeon 
at  his  lodgings  in  the  Dover  Road,  Southwark,  that  I  might  study  theology  under 
his  direction.  A  letter  that  he  wrote  to  me,  during  that  period,  shows  that  he  had 
already  anticipated  a  further  addition  to  the  ranks  of  the  ministry  after  my  course  ot 
training  was  completed  :~ 

"  London, 

"  September  22nd,  1855. 
"  My  Dear  Brother, 

"  Since  your  departure,  I  have  been  meditating  upon  the  pleasure  of  being 
the  means  of  sending  you  to  so  excellent  a  scene  of  preparation  for  the  ministry, 
and  in  prayer  to  God  I  have  sought  every  blessing  upon  you,  for  I  love  you  very 
much.  Oh,  how  I  desire  to  see  you  a  holy  and  successful  minister  of  Jesus  !  I  need 
not  bid  you  work  at  your  studies  :  I  am  sure  you  will  ;  but  be  sure  to  live  near  to 
God,  and  hold  very  much  intercourse  with  Jesus. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  that,  when  you  are  gone  out  into  the  vineyard,  I  must 
find  another  to  be  my  dearly-beloved  Timothy,  just  as  you  are. 

"  Now  I  find  it  no  easy  task  to  get  money,  and  I  have  been  thinking  I  must  get 
friends  to  give  me  a  good  set  of  books,  which  I  shall  not  give  you,  but  keep  for  those 
who  may  come  after  ;  so  that,  by  degrees,  I  shall  get  together  a  good  Theological 
Library  for  young  students  in  years  to  come. 

"  If  I  were  rich,  I  would  give  you  all  ;  but,  as  I  have  to  bear  all  the  brunt  of 
the  battle,  and  am  alone  responsible,  I  think  I  must  get  the  books  to  be  always  used 
in  future.  Those  you  will  purchase  to-day  are  yours  to  keep  ;  Mr.  Bagster's  books 
must  be  mine  ;  and  I  have  just  written  to  a  friend  to  buy  me  Matthew  Henry,  which 
shall  soon  be  at  your  disposal,  and  be  mine  in  the  same  way.  You  see,  I  am  looking 
forward. 

"  Believe  me, 

"  Ever  your  very  loving  friend, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon." 

"After  Mr.  Spurgeon's  marriage,  I  continued  regularly  to  study  with  him,  once 
a  week,  in  the  New  Kent  Road,  and  afterwards  at  Nightingale  Lane,  Clapham 
Common.  Towards  the  latter  part  of  1856,  I  preached  at  Kingston-on-Thames,  and 
before  long  received  a  unanimous  invitation  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Baptist  Church 
there.  Acting  on  Mr.  Spurgeon's  advice,  that  invitation  was  accepted  temporarily 
until  two  years  of  study  had  expired.  Mr.  Spurgeon  himself  made  arrangements 
with  the  church  that,  in  addition  to  the  amount  they  were  giving  me  for  my  services, 
they  were  to  repay  him  the  amount  he  was  expending  for  my  tuition  at  Bexley 
Heath.     At  the  expiration  of   the   first  quarter,   he  handed  me  a  cheque,   saying. 


SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


147 


'  That  is  yours  ;  the  deacons  would  not  have  given  that  extra  if  I  had  not  put  it  in 
the  way  I  have  done.'  On  my  refusing  to  accept  the  cheque,  he  at  once  said  that, 
as  he  had  given  the  money  to  the  Lord  for  two  years,  he  must  take  a  second  student. 
In  that  way,  the  Pastors   College  was  commenced. 


REV.   GEORGE   ROGERS. 


"  I  went  to  reside  with  Rev.  George  Rogers,  at  Albany  Road,  Camberwell, 
on  March  21,  1857,  and  in  the  course  of  that  year,  the  second  student  (Air.  E.  J. 
Silverton)  was  received." 


(Mr.  Spurgeon's  own  account  of  the  origin  of  the  College  begins  near  the  point 
where  Mr.  Medhurst's  narration  ends  ;  he  does  not  mention  the  preliminary  period  of 
training  at  Bexley  Heath  : — ) 

When,  in  early  days,  God's  Holy  .Spirit  had  gone  forth  with  my  ministry  at  New 
Park  Street,  several  zealous  young  men  were  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  ; 
and  among  them  some  whose  preaching  in  the  street  was  blessed  of  God  to  the 
conversion  of  souls.  Knowing  that  these  men  had  capacities  for  usefulness,  but 
laboured,  under  the  serious  disadvantage  of  having  no  education,  and  were, 
moreover,  in  such  circumstances  that  they  would  not  be  likely  to  obtain  admission 
into  any  of  our  Colleges,  it  entered  into  my  heart  to  provide  them  with  a  course  of 
elementary  instruction,  which  might,  at  least,  correct  their  inaccuracies  of  speech,  and 
put  them  in  the  way  of  obtaining  further  information  by  reading.      One  young  man, 


14S  c.    H.    spurgeon"s   autobiography. 

of  especial  promise,  seemed  to  be  thrust  in  my  way  by  Providence,  so  that  I  must 
commence  with  him  at  once,  and,  not  long  after,  the  very  man  of  all  others 
the  most  suitable  to  assist  in  carrying"  out  my  design  was  brought  before  me. 
The  Rev.  George  Rogers,  of  Camberwell,  had  been  waiting  and  ripening  for  the 
office  and  work  of  a  tutor  ;  and  while  the  idea  of  educating  young  men  was 
simmering  in  my  brain,  he  was  on  the  look-out  for  some  such  service.  We  met,  and 
entered  into  a  fellowship  which  every  succeeding  year  has  strengthened. 

With  a  solitary  student,  our  labour  of  love  commenced.  Funds  were  forth- 
coming for  the  support  of  this  one  brother  ;  but,  at  the  time,  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  a 
very  weighty  enterprise  and  a  great  responsibility.  With  a  limited  income,  it  was 
no  easy  thing  for  a  young  minister  to  guarantee  ^50  a  year.  This,  however,  was  a 
small  matter  ere  long,  for  other  brethren,  who  required  the  same  aid,  and  were 
equally  worthy,  came  forward  to  ask  for  similar  instruction,  and  we  could  not  deny 
them.  The  single  student,  in  1856,  grew  into  eight  ere  long  ;  and  then  into  twenty  ; 
and,  anon,  the  number  rose  to  nearly  one  hundred  men.  Faith  trembled  when  tried 
with  the  weight  of  the  support  of  one  man  ;  but  the  Lord  has  strengthened  her  by 
exercise,  so  that  she  has  rejoiced  under  the  load  when  multiplied  a  hundred-fold. 

The  work  did  not  begin  with  any  scheme, — it  grew  out  of  necessity.  It  was  no 
choice  with  him  who  first  moved  in  it,  he  simply  acted  because  he  was  acted  upon  by 
a  higher  power.  He  had  no  idea  whereunto  the  matter  would  grow,  nor  did  he 
contemplate  the  institution  of  any  far-reaching  and  wide-spread  agency.  To  meet 
the  present  need,  and  follow  the  immediate  movement  of  Providence,  was  all  that 
was  intended,  and  no  idea  of  the  future  presented  itself  at  the  commencement.  It 
seems  to  be  God's  plan  that  works  of  usefulness  should  develop  themselves  in 
obedience  to  a  living  force  within,  rather  than  by  scheme  and  plan  from  without. 

When  the  Pastors'  College  was  fairly  moulded  into  shape,  we  had  before  us  but 
one  object,  and  that  was,  the  glory  of  God,  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  To 
preach  with  acceptance,  men,  lacking  in  education,  need  to  be  instructed  ;  and 
therefore  our  Institution  set  itself  further  to  instruct  those  zukom  God  had  evidently 
called  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  who  laboured  under  early  disadvantages.  We  never 
dreamed  of  making  men  preachers,  but  we  desired  to  help  those  whom  God  had 
already  called  to  be  such.  Hence,  we  laid  down,  as  a  basis,  the  condition  that  a 
man  must,  during  about  two  years,  have  been  engaged  in  preaching,  and  must  have 
had  some  seals  to  his  ministry,  before  we  could  entertain  his  application.  No  matter 
how  talented  or  promising  he  might  appear  to  be,  the  College  could  not  act  upon 
mere  hopes,  but  must  have  evident  marks  of  a  Divine  call,  so  far  as  human 
judgment  can  discover  them.  This  became  a  main  point  with  us,  for  we  wanted,  not 
men  whom  our  tutors  could  make  into  scholars,  but  men  whom  the  Lord  had 
ordained  to  be  preachers. 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  1 49 

Firmly  fixing  this  landmark,  we  proceeded  to  sweep  away  every  hindrance  to 
the  admission  of  fit  men.  We  determined  never  to  refuse  a  man  on  account  of 
absolute  poverty,  but  rather  to  provide  him  with  needful  lodging,  board,  and 
raiment,  that  he  might  not  be  hindered  on  that  account.  We  also  placed  the  literary 
qualifications  of  admission  so  low  that  even  brethren  who  could  not  read  have 
been  able  to  enter,  and  have  been  among  the  most  useful  of  our  students  in 
after  days.  A  man  of  real  ability  as  a  speaker,  of  deep  piety,  and  genuine 
faith,  may  be,  by  force  of  birth  and  circumstances,  deprived  of  educational 
advantages,  and  yet,  when  helped  a  little,  he  may  develop  into  a  mighty  worker 
for  Christ  ;  it  would  be  a  serious  loss  to  the  Church  to  deny  such  a  man 
instruction  because  it  was  his  misfortune  to  miss  it  in  his  youth.  Our  College 
began  by  inviting  men  of  God  to  her  bosom,  whether  they  were  poor  and 
illiterate,  or  wealthy  and  educated.  We  sought  for  earnest  preachers,  not  for 
readers  of  sermons,  or  makers  of  philosophical  essays.  "  Have  you  won  souls 
for  Jesus?"  was  and  is  our  leading  enquiry  of  all  applicants.  "  If  so,  come  thou 
with  us,  and  we  will  do  thee  good."  If  the  brother  has  any  pecuniary  means,  we  feel 
that  he  should  bear  his  own  charges,  and  many  have  done  so ;  but  if  he  cannot  con- 
tribute a  si.xpence,  he  is  equally  welcome,  and  is  received  upon  the  same  footing  in  all 
respects.  If  we  can  but  find  men  who  love  Jesus,  and  love  the  people,  and  will  seek 
to  bring  Jesus  and  the  people  together,  the  College  will  receive  two  hundred  of  such 
as  readily  as  one,  and  trust  in  God  for  their  food  ;  but  if  men  of  learning  and  wealth 
should  come,  the  College  will  not  accept  them  unless  they  prove  their  calling  by 
power  to  deliver  the  truth,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  their  labours.  Our  men 
seek  no  Collegiate  degrees,  or  classical  honours, — though  many  of  them  could  readily 
attain  them  ;  but  to  preach  efficiently,  to  get  at  the  hearts  of  the  masses,  to 
evangelize  the  poor, — -this  is  the  College  ambition,  this  and  nothing  else. 

We  endeavour  to  teach  the  Scriptures,  but,  as  everybody  else  claims  to  do  the 
same,  and  we  wish  to  be  known  and  read  of  all  men,  we  say  distinctly  that  the 
theology  of  the  Pastors'  College  is  Puritanic.  We  know  nothing  of  the  new  ologies ; 
we  stand  by  the  old  ways.  The  improvements  brought  forth  by  what  is  called 
"  modern  thought  "  we  regard  with  suspicion,  and  believe  them  to  be,  at  best,  dilutions 
of  the  truth,  and  most  of  them  old,  rusted  heresies,  tinkered  up  again,  and  sent 
abroad  with  a  new  face  put  upon  them,  to  repeat  the  mischief  which  they  wrought  in 
ages  past.  We  are  old-fashioned  enough  to  prefer  Manton  to  Maurice,  Charnock  to 
Robertson,  and  Owen  to  Voysey.  Both  our  experience  and  our  reading  of  the 
.Scriptures  confirm  us  in  the  belief  of  the  unfashionable  doctrines  of  grace  ;  and 
among  us,  upon  those  grand  fundamentals,  there  is  no  uncertain  sound.  Young 
minds  are  not  to  be  cast  into  one  rigid  mould,  neither  can  maturity  of  doctrine  be 
expected  of  beginners  in  thff  ministry  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  our  men  have   not  only  gone 


15° 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRArHV. 


out  from  us  clear  and  sound  in  the  faith  ;  but,  with  very  few  exceptions,  they 
have  continued  so.  Some  few  have  ascended  into  Hyper-Calvinism,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  one  or  two  have  wandered  into  Arminian  sentiments  ;  but  even  these 
have  remained  earnestly  Evangelical,  while  the  bulk  of  the  brethren  abide  in  the 
faith  in  which  their  Alma  Mater  nourished  them.  The  general  acceptance  of  our 
students  in  Scotland  is  one  remarkable  proof  that  they  stand  by  the  old  Calvinistic, 
Evangelical  doctrines.  The  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Rotterdam  and  Amsterdam, 
which  are  frequently  supplied  by  our  students,  and  are  resolutely  orthodox,  have 
ao-ain  and  again  sent  us  pleasing  testimony  that  our  men  carry  to  them  the  old 
theolop-y  of  the  Westminster  Assembly's  Confession.  Let  wiseacres  say  what  they 
will,  there  is  more  truth  in  that  venerable  Confession  than  could  be  found  in  ten 
thousand  volumes  of  the  school  of  affected  culture  and  pretentious  thoughtfulness. 
Want  of  knowing  what  the  old  theology  is,  is  in  most  cases  the  reason  for  ridiculing 
it.  Believing  that  the  Puritanic  school  embodied  more  of  gospel  truth  in  it  than  any 
other  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  we  continue  in  the  same  line  of  things  ;  and,  by 
God's  help,  hope  to  have  a  share  in  that  revival  of  Evangelical  doctrine  which  is  as 
sure  to  come  as  the  Lord  Himself.  Those  who  think  otherwise  can  go  elsewhere  ; 
but,  for  our  own  part,  we  shall  never  consent  to  leave  the  doctrinal  teaching  of  the 
Institution  vague  and  undefined,  after  the  manner  of  the  bigoted  liberalism  of  the 
present  day.     This  is  our  College  motto  : — 


ET   TENEO     ^^^Uil  ET   TENEOR. 

"  I   Hold  and 


We  labour  to  hold  forth  the  cross  of  Christ  with  a  bold  hand  among  the  sons 
of  men,  because  that  cross  holds  us  fast  by  its  attractive  power.  Our  desire  is,  that 
every  man  may  hold  the  truth,  and  be  held  by  it  ;  especially  the  truth  of  Christ 
crucified. 

There  were  many  interesting  incidents  associated  with  the  earliest  days  of  the 
Pastors'  College,  or  which  occurred  even  before  it  was  actually  in  existence.  When 
Mr.  Medhurst  began  to  preach  in  the  street,  some  of  the  very  precise  friends,  who 
were  at  that  time  members  at  New  Park  Street,  were  gready  shocked  at  his  want  of 
education,  so  they  complained  to  me  about  it,  and  said  that  I  ought  to  stop  him  ;  for, 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  I51 

if  I  did  not,  disgrace  would  be  brought  upon  the  cause.  Accordingly,  I  had  a  talk 
with  the  earnest  young  brother  ;  and,  while  he  did  not  deny  that  his  English  was 
imperfect,  and  that  he  might  have  made  mistakes  in  other  respects,  yet  he  said,  "  I 
must  preach,  sir  ;  and  I  shall  preach  unless  you  cut  off  my  head."  I  went  to  our 
friends,  and  told  them  what  he  had  said,  and  they  took  it  in  all  seriousness.  "  Oh  !  " 
they  e.xclaimed,  "  you  can't  cut  off  Mr.  Medhurst's  head,  so  you  must  let  him  go  on 
preaching."  I  quite  agreed  with  them,  and  I  added,  "  As  our  young  brother  is 
evidently  bent  on  serving  the  Lord  with  all  his  might,  I  must  do  what  I  can  to  get 
him  an  education  that  will  fit  him  for  the  ministry." 

The  ne.xt  one  to  come  to  me  in  trouble  was  Mr.  Medhurst  himself.  One  day, 
with  a  very  sad  countenance,  he  said  to  me,  "  I  have  been  preaching  for  three 
months,  and  I  don't  know  of  a  single  soul  having  been  converted."  Meaning  to 
catch  him  by  guile,  and  at  the  same  time  to  teach  him  a  lesson  he  would  never 
forget,  I  asked,  "  Do  you  e.xpect  the  Lord  to  save  souls  every  time  you  open  your 
mouth  .''  "  "  Oh,  no,  sir  !  "  he  replied.  "  Then,"  I  said,  "  that  is  just  the  reason  why 
you  have  not  had  conversions  :   '  According  to  your  faith  be  it  unto  you.'  " 

During  the  time  Mr.  Medhurst  was  studying  at  Bexley  Heath,  he  used  to 
conduct  services  in  the  open  air.  On  one  occasion,  when  I  went  there  to  preach,  I 
was  much  amused,  after  the  service,  by  overhearing  the  remarks  of  two  good  souls 
who  were  manifestly  very  much  attached  to  the  young  student.  "Well,"  enquired 
the  first,  "how  did  you  like  Mr.  Spurgeon  ? "  "Oh!"  answered  her  companion, 
"  very  well  ;  but  /  should  have  enjoyed  the  service  more  if  he  hadn't  imitated  our 
dear  Air.  Medhurst  so  nnich." 

There  was  another  explanation,  which  did  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  the 
old  lady  ;  and,  in  ai'ter  days,  when  relating  the  story  to  other  students,  I  pointed 
out  how  serious  the  consequences  might  be  if  any  of  them  imitated  me  ! 

At  a  later  date,  when  I  visited  Kingston-on-Thames,  after  Mr.  Medhurst  had 
become  pastor  of  the  church  there,  I  wanted  to  find  out  what  the  people  thought 
of  him,  so  I  spoke  of  him  with  apparent  coolness  to  an  estimable  lady  of  his 
congregation.  In  a  very  few  moments,  she  began  to  speak  quite  warmly  in  his 
favour.  She  said,  "  You  must  not  say  anything  against  him,  sir  ;  if  you  do,  it  is 
because  you  do  not  know  him."  "  Oh  !  "  I  replied,  "  I  knew  him  long  before  you  did  ; 
he  is  not  much,  is  he  ?  "  "  Well,"  she  answered,  "  I  must  speak  well  ot  him,  for  he 
has  been  a  blessing  to  my  family  and  servants."  I  went  out  into  the  street,  and  saw 
some  men  and  women  standing  about ;  so  I  said  to  them,  "  I  must  take  your 
minister  away."  "If  you  do,"  they  exclaimed,  "we  will  follow  you  all  over  the 
world  to  get  him  back  ;  you  surely  will  not  be  so  unkind  as  to  take  away  a  man  who 
has  done  so  much  good  to  our  souls?"  After  collecting  the  testimony  of  fifteen  or 
si.xteen  persons,  I  said,  "If  the  man  gets  such  witnesses  as  these  to  the  power  of 


152  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

his  ministry,  I   will   gladly  let  him   go  on  where   he   is  ;  for  it  is  clear  that  the  Lord 
has  called  him  into  His  service." 

Mr.  Medhurst  himself  told  me  of  an  incident  that  occurred  to  him  in  connection 
with  one  young  man  whom  I  had  accepted  for  training,  because  I  could  see  that  he 
might  do  good  service  after  proper  tuition.  So  extraordinarily  ignorant  was  he  of  his 
Bible  that,  upon  hearing  Mr.  Medhurst  mention  the  story  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  being- 
driven  out  from  men,  until  his  nails  grew  like  birds'  claws,  and  his  hair  like  eagles' 
feathers,  he  said  to  the  preacher,  at  the  close  of  the  sermon,  "  That  was  a  queer  story 
you  told  the  people,  certainly  ;  where  did  you  fish  that  up  ?"  "Why  !  "  replied  our 
friend,  "  have  you  never  read  your  Bible  ?  Can  you  not  find  it  in  the  Book  of 
Daniel  ?  "  The  young  man  had  read  a  great  many  other  books,  but  he  had  never 
read  his  Bible  through,  yet  he  was  going  to  be  a  teacher  of  it  !  I  fear  that  such 
ignorance  is  very  current  in  many  persons  ;  they  do  not  know  what  is  in  the  Bible  : 
they  could  tell  you  what  is  in  The  Clnirchvians  Magazine,  or  The  JJ'es/eyan 
Magazine,  or  The  Baptist  Magazine,  or  The  Evangelical  Magazine  ;  but  there  is 
one  old  magazine,  a  magazine  of  arms,  a  magazine  of  wealth,  that  they  have 
forgotten  to  read, — that  old-fashioned  Book  called  the  Bible.  I  remember  saying, 
of  a  later  student,  that  if  he  had  been  as  well  acquainted  with  his  Bible  as  he  was 
with  The  Baptist  Handbook,  he  would  have  made  a  good  minister  ;  and  he  was  not 
the  only  one  to  whom  such  a  remark  might  have  been  applied. 

There  was  one  of  the  early  students,  who  gave  me  great  cause  to  fear 
concerning  his  future,  when  he  began  his  petition  at  the  Monday  night  prayer- 
meeting  thus: — "O  Thou  that  art  encinctured  with  an  auriferous  zodiac  !  "  This 
was,  of  course,  a  grandiloquent  paraphrase  of  Revelation  i.  13.  Alas  !  my  fears 
proved  to  be  only  too  well  founded  ;  after  he  left  the  College,  he  went  from  the 
Baptists  to  the  Congregationalists,  then  became  a  play-writer  and  play-actor  ;  and 
where  he  is  now,  I  do  not  know.  For  many  years  I  had  the  sad  privilege  of  helping 
to  support  his  godly  wife,  whom  he  had  deserted.  I  thank  God  that,  among  so  manv 
hundreds  of  men,  so  few  have  caused  me  such  sorrow  of  heart  as  he  did. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


Jfirst  Iprintfb  Works— Hutljor,  Pufalisijcrs.  mib  Itabcrs. 

How  many  souls  may  be  converted  by  what  some  men  are  privileged  to  write  and  print !  There 
is,  for  instance,  Dr.  Doddridge's  Kise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul.  Though  I  decidedly  object  to 
some  things  in  it,  I  could  wish  that  everybody  had  read  that  book,  so  many  have  been  the  conversions  it 
has  produced.  I  think  it  more  honour  to  have  composed  Watts's  Psalms  and  Hymns  than  Milton's  Paradise 
Lost ;  and  more  glory  to  have  written  old  Thomas  Wilcocks'  book,  A  Choice  Drop  of  Honey  from  the  Rock 
Christ,  or  the  booklet  that  God  has  used  so  much,  The  Sinner's  Friend,  than  all  the  works  of  Homer.  I  value 
books  tor  the  good  they  may  do  to  men's  souls.  Much  as  I  respect  the  genius  of  Pope,  or  Dryden,  or 
Burns,  give  me  the  simple  lines  of  Covvper,  that  God  has  owned  in  bringing  souls  to  Him.  Oh,  to  think 
that  I  may  write  and  print  books  which  shall  reach  poor  sinners'  hearts  !  The  other  daj-,  my  soul  was 
gladdened  exceedingly  by  an  invitation  from  a  pious  woman  to  go  and  see  her.  She  told  me  she  had 
been  ten  years  on  her  bed,  and  had  not  been  able  to  stir  from  it.  "  Nine  years,"  she  said,  "  I  was  dark, 
and  blind,  and  unthinking ;  but  my  husband  brought  me  one  of  your  sermons.  I  read  it,  and  God 
blessed  it  to  the  opening  of  my  eyes.  He  converted  my  soul  by  it ;  and  now,  all  glory  to  Him,  I  love 
His  Name  !  Each  Sabbath  morning,"  she  added,  "  I  wait  for  your  sermon.  I  live  on  it  all  the  week,  it  is 
marrow  and  fatness  to  my  spirit."  Ah  !  thought  I,  there  is  something  to  cheer  the  printers,  and  all  of  us 
who  labour  in  that  good  work.  A  country  friend  wrote  to  me,  this  week,  "  Brother  Spurgeon,  keep 
your  courage  up  ;  you  are  known  in  multitudes  of  the  households  of  England,  and  you  are  loved,  too; 
though  we  cannot  hear  you,  or  see  your  living  form,  yet  throughout  our  villages  your  sermons  are 
scattered  ;  and  I  know  ot  cases  of  conversion  from  them,  more  than  I  can  tell  you."  Another  friend 
mentioned  to  me  an  instance  of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  a  canon  of  a  cathedral,  who 
frequently  preaches  the  sermons  on  the  Sabbath, -whether  in  the  cathedral  or  not,  I  cannot  say,  but  I 
hope  he  does.  Oh !  who  can  tell,  when  these  words  are  printed,  what  hearts  they  may  reach,  or  what 
good  they  may  effect  ? — C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  preached  at  Ne'w  Park  Street  Chapel,  October  7,  1855- 


HE  first  product  of  my  pen  which  found  its  way  into  print  was  Xo.  i 
of  a  short  series  of  Waterbeach  Tracts,  which  bore  upon  its  front 
page  the  announcement,  "  Published  by  request  of  numerous 
FRIENDS."  This  was  issued  in  1853,  and  in  the  same  year  I  sent  to 
The  Baptist  Reporter  an  account  of  the  conversation  I  had  with 
the  clergyman  at  Maidstone  which  was  the  means  of  leading  me  to 
search  the  Scriptures,  and  to  find  out  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  concerning 
believers'  baptism.*  My  letter  was  printed,  although  I  only  gave,  for  publication, 
initials  for  my  name  and  sphere  of  labour.  Soon  after  I  was  settled  in  London,  the 
Editor  of  The  Baptist  Messenger,  then  recently  started,  asked  me  to  write  some 
articles  for  his  Magazine,  so  I  wrote  a  brief  Exposition  of  Psalm  l.x.xxiv.  6,  which 
was  published  in  September,  1S54,  under  the  title.  "The  V^alley  of  Weeping."  The 
following  month,  the  next  verse  furnished  me  with  a  sequel,  which  appeared  in  the 
October  number  under  the  heading,  "  Onward  and  Heavenward."     Month  by  month. 


♦  See  Autobiography,  Vol.  I.,  chapter  vii. 


154 


C.      H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


I  continued  to  contribute  short  meditations  to  the  pages  of  the  Messenger  until  my 
other  worlc  absorbed  all  my  time  and  strength,  and  from  then  up  to  the  present,  one 
of  my  sermons  has  regularly  occupied  the  first  page  of  each  issue  of  the  little 
Magazine. 

On  August  20,  1854,  I  preached  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel  from  the  words 
in  I  Samuel  xii.  17  :  "  Is  it  not  wheat  harvest  to-day  ?  "  The  sermon  was  published 
by  Mr.  James  Paul,  as  No.  2,234  in  his  Penny  Pulpit,  under  the  tide,  "  Harvest 
Time,"  and  was,  I  believe,  the  first  of  my  discourses  to  appear  in  print.  Before  I 
ever  entered  a  pulpit,  the  thought  had  occurred  to  me  that  I  should  one  day  preach 
sermons  which  would  be  printed.  While  reading  the  penny  sermons  of  Joseph 
Irons,  which  were  great  favourites  with  me,  I  conceived  in  my  heart  the  idea  that, 
some  time  or  other,  I  should  have  a  "  Penny  Pulpit"  of  my  own.  In  due  course,  the 
dream  became  an  accomplished  fact.  There  was  so  good  a  demand  for  the 
discourses  as  they  appeared  in  the  Penny  Pulpit  and  Baptist  Messenger,  that  the 
notion  of  occasional  publication  was  indulged,  but  with  no  idea  of  continuance  week 
bv  week  for  a  lengthened  period  ;  that  came  to  pass  as  a  development  and  a  growth. 
With  much  fear  and  trembling,  my  consent  was  given  to  the  proposal  of  my  present 
worthy  publishers  to  commence  the  regular  weekly  publication  of  a  sermon.  We 
began  with  the  one  preached  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  on  Lord's-day  morning, 
January  7,  1855,  upon  the  text,  "  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not  ;  therefore  ye  sons  of 
Jacob  are  not  consumed"  (Malachi  iii.  6)  ;  and  now,  a*ter  all  these  years,  it  is  a  glad 
thino-  to  be  able  to  say,  "  Having  therefore  obtained  help  of  God,  I  continue  unto 
this  day,  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great."  How  many  "  Penny  Pulpits"  have 
been  set  up  and  pufled  down  in  the  course  of  these  years,  it  would  be  hard  to  tell  ; 
certainly,  very  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  publish  weekly  the  sermons  of 
most  eminent  men,  and  they  have  all  run  to  their  end  with  more  or  less  rapidity,  in 
some  cases  through  the  preacher's  ill-health  or  death,  but  in  several  others,  to  my 
knowledo-e,  from  an  insufficient  sale.  Perhaps  the  discourses  were  too  good  ;  the 
public  evidently  did  not  think  them  too  interesting.  Those  who  know  what  dull 
readino-  sermons  are  usually  supposed  to  be,  will  count  that  man  happy  who  has  for 
over  thirty  years*  been  favoured  with  a  circle  of  willing  supporters,  who  not  only 
purchase  but  actually  read  his  discourses.  I  am  more  astonished  at  the  fact  than 
any  other  man  can  possibly  be,  and  I  see  no  other  reason  for  it  but  this, — the 
sermons  contain  the  gospel,  preached  in  plain  language,  and  this  is  precisely  what 
multitudes  need  beyond  anything  else.  The  gospel,  ever  fresh  and  ever  new,  has 
held  my  vast  congregation  together  these  many  long  years,  and  the  same  power  has 

*  As  this  volume  of  Vat.  Autobiography  is  passing  through  the  press,  the  forty-Jourth  year's  publication  of  the  sermons  is 
proceeding,  malting  from  No.  2,550  to  No.  2,602,  in  regular  weekly  succession  ;  and  there  are  still  sufficient  unpublished  discourses 
to  last  for  several  years  longer,  while  the  demand  for  them  is  as  great  as  ever. 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  155 

kept  around  me  a  host  of  readers.  A  French  farmer,  when  accused  of  witchcraft  by 
his  neighbours,  because  his  crops  were  so  large,  exhibited  his  industrious  sons,  his 
laborious  ox,  his  spade,  and  his  plough,  as  the  only  witchcraft  which  he  had  used  ; 
and,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  I  can  only  ascribe  the  continued  acceptableness  of 
the  sermons  to  the  gospel  which  they  contain,  and  the  plainness  of  the  speech  in 
which  that  gospel  is  uttered. 

When  the  time  arrived  for  issuing  Vol.  I.  of  The  New  Park  Street  Pulpit,  I 
wrote  in  the  Preface  : — "  Litde  can  be  said  in  praise  of  these  sermons,  and  nothing 
can  be  said  against  them  more  bitter  than  has  been  already  spoken.  Happily,  the 
author  has  heard  abuse  exhaust  itself ;  he  has  seen  its  vocabulary  used  up,  and  its 
utmost  venom  entirely  spent  ;  and  yet,  the  printed  discourses  have  for  that  very 
reason  found  a  readier  sale,  and  more  have  been  led  to  peruse  them  with  deep 
attention. 

"  One  thing  alone  places  this  book  above  contempt, — and  that  accomplishes  the 
deed  so  triumphandy,  that  the  preacher  defies  the  opinion  of  man, — it  is  the  fact 
that,  to  his  certain  knowledge,  there  is  scarcely  a  sermon  here  which  has  not  been 
stamped  by  the  hand  of  the  Almighty,  by  the  conversion  of  a  soul.  Some  single 
sermons,  here  brought  into  the  society  of  their  brethren,  have  been,  under  God,  the 
means  of  the  salvation  of  not  less  than  twenty  souls  ;  at  least,  that  number  has  come 
under  the  preacher's  notice  from  one  sermon  only  ;  and,  doubtless,  more  shall  be 
discovered  at  the  last  day.  This,  together  with  the  fact  that  hundreds  of  the 
children  of  God  have  been  made  to  leap  for  joy  by  their  message,  makes  their  author 
invulnerable  either  to  criticism  or  abuse. 

"  The  reader  will,  perhaps,  remark  considerable  progress  in  some  of  the 
sentiments  here  made  public,  particularly  in  the  case  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Second 
Coming  of  our  Lord  ;  but  he  will  remember  that  he  who  is  learning  truth  will  learn 
it  by  degrees,  and  if  he  teaches  as  he  learns,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  his  lessons  wnll 
become  fuller  every  day. 

■'There  are  also  many  expressions  which  may  provoke  a  smile  ;  but  let  it  be 
remembered  that  every  man  has  his  moments  when  his  lighter  feelings  indulge 
themselves,  and  the  preacher  must  be  allowed  to  have  the  same  passions  as  his 
fellow-men  ;  and  since  he  lives  in  the  pulpit  more  than  anywhere  else,  it  is  but 
natural  that  his  whole  man  should  be  there  developed  ;  besides,  he  is  not  quite  sure 
about  a  smile  being  a  sin,  and,  at  any  rate,  he  thinks  it  less  a  crime  to  cause  a 
momentary  laughter  than  a  half-hour's  profound  slumber. 

"With  all  faults,  the  purchaser  has  bought  this  book;  and,  as  it  was  not 
warranted  to  be  perfect,  if  he  thinks  ill  of  it,  he  must  make  the  best  of  his  bargain, — 
which  can  be  done,  either  by  asking  a  blessing  on  its  reading  to  himself,  or 
entreating  greater  light  for  his  friend  the  preacher." 


156 


SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


C|c  feto 


fulprt. 


l^C* 


THE  IMMUTABILITY  OF  GOD. 
TH  Morning,  Januj 

fe^^y;^.  C.  H.  SPURGEON, 


Delivered  on  SAnsATH  Morning,  January  7rH,  1855,  bt  tUfc 


AT  NEW    Park    STREiyr    chapel,  southwaRk. 


'I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not;  therefore  ye  £ 


of  Jacob  are  not  consumed-" — Malachi.  iii,  C. 


It  has  been  said  by  some  one  that  "  the  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man."  I  will 
not  oppose  the  idea,  but  I  believe  it  is  equally  true  that  the  proper  study  of  God's 
elect  is  God  ;  the  proper  study  of  a  Christian  "is  the  Godhead.  The  highest  science, 
the  loftiest  speculation,  the  mightiest  philosophy,  which  can  ever  engage  the 
attention  of  a  child  of  God,  is  the  name,  the  nature,  the  person,  the  work,  the 


dpings,  and  the  existence  of  the  great  God  whom  he  calls  his  Father.  [Jhere  is  /'/  /  J; 
something  exceedingly  improving  to  the  mind  in  a  contemplation  of  the  Divinityy' /*^  •^■■nAi^ 
It  is  a  subject  so  vast,  that  all  our  thoughts  are  lost  in  its  immensity  ;  so  deep,     '^i^C^Z^at-^ 


that  our  pride  is  drowned  in  its  infinity.  Otlier  subjects  we  can  compass  and 
grapple  with  ;  in  thera  we  feel  a  kind  of  self-content,  and  go  our  way  with  the 
thought,  "Behold^  I  am  wise."  But  when  we  come  to  this  master-science,  finding 
that  our  plumb-line  cannot  sound  its  depth,  and  that  our  eagle  eye  cannot  see  its 
height,  we  turn  away  witli  the  thought,  that  vain  man  would  be  wise,  but  he  is 
like  a  wild  ass's  colt  ;  and  with  the  solemn  exclamation,  "  I  am  but  of  yesterday, 
and  know  nothing."  No  subject  of  contemplation  will  tend  more  to  humble  the 
nund,  than  thoughts  of  God.     We  shall  be  obliged  to  feel  — 

'  Great  God,  how  infinite  art  thou. 
What  worthless  worms  are  we!" 


-^^-^ ..Z^^  < 


L./^ 


/^       ^       But  while  the  subject  humhlea  the  raind,it  also  expands  it.     He  who  often  thinks 

f  dU^   of  God,  will  have  a  larger  mmd  than  the  man  who  simply  plods  around  this  narrow 

-^^      globe.    He  may  be  a  naturalist,  boasting  of  his  ability  to  dissect  a  beetle,  anatomize 

a  fly,  or  arrange  insects  and  animals  in  classes  with  well-nigh  unutterable  names: ./    „      />     Z' 

ViO   mac    ho    n    (ronlncrlcf      ohlo    in   ^;„o/^.„.■,I.    r.t     .l,o „H,„.: —J    .  U ,.      _l-:.- "V    G<^<*T-«^' ^ 


he  may  be  a  geologist,  able  to  discourse  of  the  megatherttrm  and  the  plesiosaurus| 
and  all  kinds  of  extinct  animalsf  he  may  iiBasiB<rthat  his  science,  whatever  it  is| 
ennobles  and  enlarges  his  mind:  I  dare  say  it  does;  but  after  all,  the  most  excellent 
study  for  expanding  thg^gfiul,  is  the  science  of  Christ,  and  him  crucified,  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gsdhead  in  the  glorious  Trinity. ''^Nothing  will  so  enlarge  the 
intellect,  nothing-so  magnify  the  whole  soul  of  man,  as  a  devout,  earnest,  continued 
investigatjonof  the  great  subject  of  the  Deity.  Aad,  Whilst  humbling  and  ex- 
panding; this  subject  is  eipinently  consolatory.  Oh,  there  is,  in  contemplating 
CJimt,  a  balm  for  every  wou\id;  in  musing  on  the  Father,  there  is  a  quietus  for 
every  grief;  and  in  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  is  a  balsam  for  every 
sore.  Would  you  lose  your  sWrows?  Would  you  drown  your  cares?  Then  go, 
plunge  yourself  in  the  Godhead's  deepest ^ea^  "  lost  in  his  immensity;  and  yoii 
shall  come  forth  as  from  a  couch  of  rest,  refreshed  and  invigorated.  I  know  nothing 
which  can  so  comfort  the  souli  io  calm  the  swelling  bUIows  of  grief  and  sorrow,  so 
speak  peace  to  the  winds  of  trial,  as  a  devout  musing  upon  the  subject  of  the 
Godhead.  It  is  to  that  subject  that  I  invite  you  this  morning.  We  shall  present 
you  with  one  view  of  it,— that  is,^e  immiUability  of  the  glorious  Jehovah.  "  I  am," 
Bays  my  text,  "  Jehovah,"  (for  so  it  should  be  translated)  "  1  am  Jehovah.  I  change 
not;  therefore  ye  sons  of  Jacob  are\not  cousiuned." 
No.  I. 


/J 


n 


'^---^ir     ^^^^-^,.uU^^ed..^^J% 


C.      H.      SrURGEON  P     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


157 


L 


SWEET    COMFORT   FOR    FKEDLK 


thou  (LTl  as  much  justified  as  Paul,^eterJjohn  tire  Daptiut)  or  the  loftiest  saint  m 
heaven.     There  is  no  difference  in  tliat  matter.     Oh!  take  courage  and  rejoice. 

'Ebgnwne  thinjj  more.  If  you  were  lost,  God^s  honor  would  be  as  much  tarnished  as 
if  the  greatest  one  were  lost.  A  queer  tiling  I  once  reai  in  an  old  bool^about  God's 
children  and  people  being  a  part  of  Christ  and  in  union  with  hira.  The  writer 
Baysy— "  A  father  sitteth  in  his  room,  and  there  cometh  in  a  stranger;  the  stranger 
taketh  up  a  child  on  his  knee,  and  the  child  hath  a  sore  linger;  so  he  saith, '  My 
child,  you  have  a  sore  finger^'  'Yes!'  'Well,  let  me  take  it  off,  and  give  th«e""a" 
golden  one!'  The  child  looketh  at  hira^and  saith,  "I  will  not  go  to  that  man  any 
more,  for  he  talks  of  taking  off  my  finger;  I  love  my  own  finger,  and  I  will  not 
have  a  golden  one  instead  of  it.' "  So  the  saint  saith,  '*  I  am  one  of  the  members  of 
~     '  ~         "  olden-onB" 


y- 


Christ,  but  I  am  like  a  sore  finger,  and  he  will  take  me  offi  and  put  ag( 
on."    "No,"  saj4  Christ,  "no,  no;    I  cannot  have  any  of  my  member? tak 


VhjLcJ^^ 


\yk  Christ,  "no,  no;    I  cannot  have  any  of  my  member? taken  away; 
if  the  jinger  be  a  sore  one,  I  will  bind  it  upi   I  will  jiU'C4igthon  '-&''    Christ  cannot 
a  w;ord  about  cutting  his  members  off.     If  Christ  lose  one  of  his  people,  he 
would  not  be  a  wliole  Christ  any  longer,     ff  the  meanest  of  his  children  could  be  ^ 

cast  away,  Christ  would  lack  a  part  of  his  fulness;  yea,  Christ  would  be  'Qcomplete^^/J/ 
without  his  Church.     If  one  of  his  children  must  be  lost,  it  would  be  bettex-thatrff^^'^'^ 
should  be  a  gre.it  one,  than  a  little  one.    If  a  little  one  were  lost».Satatrwould  say, 
"Ah I  you  sav^the  great  ones,  because  they  had  strensth'"Snd  could  help  them- 
selves;   but  the  little  one  that  hai  no  streng^thr-yCu^could  not  save  hiffi."     You 
know  what  Satan  would  say;   but  God  :E««la3hut  Satan's  mouthy  bj'  proclaiming, 
"They  are  all  here,  Satan.lp  spite  of  thy  malice,  they  are  all  here;    every  one  is   ^   ^       /        f  A. 
safe»  -iH»B-  j(ie  down  in  thy  den  for  ever,  and  be  bound  eternally  in  chains^aad-^  «Cfln^'<-«->-*<r?  '' 
miultc  in  fire!"    So  shall  Ae  suffer  et'-nal  torment,  but  not  one  child  of  God. ever  <^  £^,^^^(21-/ 

One  thought  more.and  I  shall  have  done  with  this  head.     The  salvation  of  greaf}^^^  ^ 

saints  often  depends  upon  the  salvation  of  little  ones.     Do  you  understand  that  ?     You 
know  that  my  salvation,  or  the  salvation  of  any  child  of  God,  looking  at  second 
causes,  very  much  depends  upon  the  conversion  of  some  one  else.     Suppose  your 
mother  is  the  means  of  youT  conversion;  you  would,  speaking  after  the  manner  of 
men,  say,  that  your  conversion  depended  upon  hers;  for  her  being  converted,  made 
her  the  instrument  of  bringing  you  in.     Suppose  such-and-such  a  minister  to  be  the 
means  of  your  calling;  then  your  conversion,  in  some  sense,  though  not  absolutely, 
depends  upon  his.    So  it  often  happens,  that  the  salvation  of  God's  mightiest  ser- 
vants depends  upon  the  conversion  of  little  ones.     There  is  a  poor  mother;  no  one 
ever  knows  anything  about  her;    she  goes  to  the  house  of  God,  her  name  is  not  in  .'Jk? 
the  newspapers,  or  anyw^iere  else;   she  teaches  her  child,  and  brings  him  up  ip 
fear  of  God;   she  prays  Ipr  that  boy;  she  wrestles  with  God,  and  herteafs  and 
prayers  mingle  together.     The  boy|/ grows  up.     What  is  he?     Aiartssionary- 
William  Knibb — a  Moffat — a  Williams,.    But  you  d"  ""*  hear  imy  thing  about  the 
mother.     Ah!    but  if 'the  mother  had  not  been  saved,  where  would  the  bo^Tiave     Stn^ 
been  ?    Let  this  cheer  the  little  ones;  and  may  you  rejoice  that  StwUl  nourish  and 
cherish  you,  though  you  are  like  bruised  reeds  and  smoking  flax.      ~^~"— — ■ 

III.     Now,  to  finish  up,  there  is  a  cirtain  victort:    "Till  he  send  forth  judg-     ^^^*^ 
ment  unto  victory."  " 

Victory!     There  is  something  beautiful  in  that  word.    The  death  of  Sir  Johng 
Miiiiii ,  III  llii   V\  Mill  mini  iTir  irn  very  touching;    he  <S8Jn  the  arms  of  triumph;     ^ 


^ 


and  sad  as  w»«  his  fat&  I  daubt  not  that  his  ej'e  ^is  lit  up  wtl 
of  victory.  In  il  n  f  iiijipriir  tint  Wolfe  spoke  a  truth  when 
happy,"  having  just  before  heard  the  shout,  "^ey  run,  they  run."  1/ 
even  in  that  bad  sen/e — for  I  look  not  upon  earthly  victories  as  of  any  value — must 
buimi  cheer^  the  warrior.  But  .oh!  how  cheered  the  saint  wheii  he  knows  that 
victory  is  his!  l/shall  fight  during  all  my  life,.but  I  shall  wclte  "vici"  on  my 
shield.  /I  shall  We  "more  than  conqueror  through  him  that /loved  me."  Each 
feeble  saint  shall/win  the  day;  each  man  upon. his  crutches;  each  lame  one;  each 
one  full  of  infi/mity,  sorrow,  sickness,  and/ weakness,  shall  gain  the  victory. 
"  T]»ey  shall  come  with  singing  unto  Zioryl"  Ae-weU  the  bU™,  and  lame,  and  halt, 
.  the  womai/  with  child,  together."  60  saith  the  Script/re,  Not  one  shall  be 
U(it  OuU  luwhD  shall  "  send    lorth  judgment  unto  victooy."    Victory!   victory  I 


u. 


«^      LslAji^ 


158  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiographv 

The  first  seven  volumes  were  printed  in  small  type,  and  each  discourse  formed 
only  eight  pages  ;  but  the  abolition  of  the  paper  duty  enabled  the  publishers  to  give 
a  more  readable  type  and  twelve  pages  of  matter..  This  has  been  better  in  every 
way,  and  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  sermons,  for  their  name  was  at  about 
the  same  period  changed  from  The  New  Park  Street  Pulpit  to  The  Metropolitan 
Tabernacle  Pulpit,  and  their  sale  was  largely  increased.  Constant  habit  enables  me 
generally  to  give  the  same  amount  of  matter  on  each  occasion,  the  very  slight 
variation  almost  surprises  myself;  from  forty  to  forty-five  minutes'  speaking  e.xactly 
fills  the  available  space,  and  saves  the  labour  of  additions,  and  the  still  more  difficult 
task  of  cutting  down.  The  earlier  sermons,  owing  to  my  constant  wanderings 
abroad,  received  scarcely  any  revision,  and  consequently  they  abound  in  collo- 
quialisms, and  other  offences,  very  venial  in  extempore  discourse,  but  scarcely 
tolerable  in  print  ;  the  later  specimens  are  more  carefully  corrected,  and  the  work  of 
revision  has  been  a  very  useful  e.xercise  to  me,  supplying  in  great  measure  that 
training  in  correct  language  which  is  obtained  by  those  who  write  their  productions 
before  they  deliver  them.  The  labour  has  been  far  greater  than  some  suppose,  and 
has  usually  occupied  the  best  hours  of  Monday,  and  involved  the  burning  of  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  midnight  oil.  Feeling  that  I  had  a  constituency  well 
deserving-  my  best  efforts,  I  have  never  grudged  the  hours,  though  often  the  brain 
has  been  wearied,  and  the  pleasure  has  hardened  into  a  task. 

I  have  commenced  revising  the  small-type  sermons  in  preparation  for  their 
re-issue  in  type  similar  to  that  used  for  the  rest  of  the  series.  There  were  mistakes 
in  orthography  and  typography,  which  needed  to  be  corrected  ;  but  I  was  happy  to 
find  that  I  had  no  occasion  to  alter  any  of  the  doctrines  which  I  preached  in  those 
early  days  of  my  ministry.  I  might,  here  and  there,  slightly  modify  the  expressions 
used  thirty  or  five-and-thirty  years  ago  ;  but,  as  to  the  truths  themselves,  I  stand  just 
where  I  did  when  the  Lord  first  revealed  them  to  me  by  His  unerring  Spirit. 

{T\\&  facsimiles  of  two  pages  of  the  revised  sermons,  reproduced  on  pages  156 
and  157,  will  show  the  kind  of  corrections  made  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  One  is  the  first 
page  of  the  first  discourse  in  Vol.  I.  of  The  AU-iu  Park  Street  Pulpit,  and  the  other 
has  a  direct  reference  to  the  preacher's  confidence  that  the  end  of  the  life-long 
warfare  which  he  would  wage,  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  would  be, 
"  Victory  !  victory  !  ") 

Before  the  first  volume  of  my  sermons  was  completed,  Mr.  W.  H.  Collingridge 
had  published  for  me,  under  the  title  of  Smooth  Stones  taken  Jrom  Ancient  Brooks, 
a  small  volume  containing  "  a  collection  of  sentences,  illustrations,  and  quaint  sayings, 
from  the  works  of  that  renowned  Puritan,  Thomas  Brooks."  (See  page  19.)  In  the 
same  year   (1855),    Mr.   James   Paul  issued   Vol.    I.  of  The  Pulpit  Library,  which 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  159 

contained  ten  of  my  sermons.  (See  page  27.)  Being  printed  in  clear,  leaded  type, 
and  bound  in  cloth,  the  volume  was  much  appreciated,  and  had  a  large  sale,  although 
half-a-crown  was  charged  for  it. 

It  contained,  amongst  other  discourses,  the  one  preached  the  night  before  I 
came  of  age,* — "Pictures  of  Life,  and  Birthday  Reflections;" — another  delivered 
on  the  Sabbath  following  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Olney,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  terrible  visitation  of  cholera,—"  The  House  of  Mourning  and  the 
House  of  Feasting;" — and  a  third,  preached  from  Isaiah  liv.  17,  on  November  5, 
1854  (at  the  very  moment  when  the  battle  of  Inkermann  was  being  fought),  in 
which  I  urged  the  importance  of  Christians  and  Protestants  remembering  the  day 
which  had  been  made  memorable  in  English  history  by  the  discovery  of  the  Guy 
Fawkes'  plot  on  November  5,  1605,  and  by  the  landing  at  Torbay  of  William  III., 
on  November  5,  16S8.  The  title  of  the  discourse  was,  "The  Saints'  Heritage  and 
Watchword."  The  volume  also  included  my  first  printed  sermon, — "  Harvest 
Time  ;  "  and  another  entitled,  "  A  Promise  for  the  Blind,"  preached  at  the  Baptist 
Chapel,  Church  Street,  Blackfriars  Road,  on  behalf  of  the  Christian  Blind  Relief 
Society,  in  the  course  of  which  I  referred  to  three  institutions  in  the  neighbourhood 
which  represented  the  three  classes  of  blind  people: — "The  physically  blind,  the 
mentally  blind,  and  the  spiritually  blind.  ...  In  the  London  Road,  you  will  find  the 
School  for  the  blind. — the  physically  blind.  Just  before  you  is  the  Roman  Catholic 
Cathedral, — there  you  have  the  spiritually  blind.  And  further  on  is  the  Bethlehem 
Hospital  ('  Bedlam  '),  where  you  have  the  mentally  blind." 

In  1855, — pardy  as  an  answer  to  the  slanders  and  calumnies  by  which  I  was 
assailed,  and  partly  that  my  own  people  might  be  furnished  with  a  plain  statement  of 
"the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints," — Messrs.  Alabaster  and  Passmore 
brought  out,  under  my  direction,  a  new  edition  of  "  The  Baptist  Confession  of  Faith, 
with  Scripture  proofs,  adopted  by  the  ministers  and  messengers  of  the  General 
Assembly  which  met  in  London  in  July,  1689  ;  "  amongst  whom  were  such  notable 
men  as  Hanserd  Knollys,  William  Kiffin,  Andrew  Gifford,  and  my  own  illustrious 
predecessor,  Benjamin  Keach. 

*  On  March  30,  1884,  just  after  the  sudden  death  of  the  Duke  of  Albany,  I  preached  again  from  the  same  text :  "  What  is 
your  life?"  The  sermon  was  pubHshed  as  No.  1,773  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle.  Pulpit,  a.nd  during  the  following  week  a 
gentleman,  who  came  to  see  me  at  the  Tabernacle  upon  some  matter  of  business,  said  to  me,  "  I  felt  quite  overwhelmed  with 
emotion  a  minute  ago."  I  asked  him  the  reason;  and  he  answered,  "  As  I  entered  this  building,  I  saw  an  announcement  that  you 
had  lately  preached  from  the  words,  '  What  is  your  life  ?  '  "  "  Well,"  I  enquired.  "  what  is  there  special  about  that  ?  "  "  Why!  " 
he  replied,  "  the  night  before  you  came  of  age,  you  preached  from  the  same  text."  I  told  the  friend  that  I  had  no  doubt  it  was  a 
very  different  discourse  from  the  one  I  had  just  delivered,  and  then  he  said,  "  I  have  never  been  able  to  shake  hands  with  you  before 
to-day;  but  I  have  great  pleasure  in  doing  so  now.  When  you  were  twenty-one  years  old,  I  was  dreadfully  depressed  in  spirit ;  I 
was  so  melancholy  that  I  believe  I  should  have  destroyed  myself  if  I  had  not  heard  you  preach  that  sermon  in  celebration  of  vour 
twenty-first  birthday.  It  encouraged  me  to  keep  on  in  the  battle  of  life  ;  and,  what  is  better,  it  made  such  an  impression  on  me 
that  I  have  never  gone  back  to  what  I  was  before.  Though  I  live  a  long  way  from  here,  no  one  loves  you  more  than  I  do,  for  you 
were  the  means  of  bringing  me  up  out  of  the  horrible  pit,  and  out  of  the  miry  clay."  I  was  very  glad  to  have  that  testimony  to  the 
usefulness  of  one  of  my  early  sermons. 


i6o  L.    II.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

In  two  Prefatory  Notes,  one  to  Christians  in  general,  and  the  other  to  my  own 
people,  I  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"  To  ALL  THE  Household  of  Faith,  who  Rejoice  in  the  Glorious 
Doctrines  of  Free  Grace, — 

"  Dearly-beloved, 

"  I  have  thought  it  meet  to  reprint  in  a  cheap  form  this  most  excellent 
list  of  doctrines,  which  was  subscribed  unto  by  the  Baptist  ministers  in  the 
year  1689. 

"  YVe  need  a  banner,  because  of  the  truth  ;  it  may  be  that  this  small  volume 
may  aid  the  cause  of  the  glorious  gospel,  by  testifying  plainly  what  are  its  leading 
doctrines.  Known  unto  many  of  you  by  face  in  the  flesh,  I  trust  we  are  also  kindred 
in  spirit,  and  are  striving  together  for  the  glory  of  our  Three-one  God.  May  the 
Lord  soon  restore  unto  His  Zion  a  pure  language,  and  may  the  watchmen  see  eye 
to  eye  ! 

"  He  who  has  preserved  this  faith  among  us,  will  doubtless  bless  our  gospel 
evermore. 

"  So  prays  your  brother  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus, 

"  C.    H.   Spurgeon." 

"  To  the  Church  in  New  Park  Street,  among  whom  it  is  my  Delight 

TO  Minister, — 

"  Dearly-beloved, 

"  This  ancient  document  is  a  most  excellent  epitome  of  the  things  most 
surely  believed  among  us.  By  the  preserving  hand  of  the  Triune  Jehovah,  we  have 
been  kept  faithful  to  the  great  points  of  our  glorious  gospel,  and  we  feel  more 
resolved  perpetually  to  abide  by  them. 

"This  little  volume  is  not  issued  as  an  authoritative  rule,  or  code  of  faith, 
whereby  you  are  to  be  fettered,  but  as  an  assistance  to  you  in  controversy,  a 
confirmation  in  faith,  and  a  means  of  edification  in  righteousness.  Here,  the 
younger  members  of  our  church  will  have  a  Body  of  Divinity  in  small  compass, 
and  by  means  of  the  Scriptural  proofs,  will  be  ready  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope 
that  is  in  them. 

"  Be  not  ashamed  of  your  faith  ;  remember  it  is  the  ancient  gospel  of  martyrs, 
confessors,  Reformers,  and  saints.  Above  all,  it  is  the  ti-iith  of  God,  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail. 

"  Let  your  lives  adorn  your  faith,  let  your  example  recommend  your  creed. 
Above  all,  live  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  walk  in  Him,  giving  credence  to  no  teaching  but 
that  which  is  manifestly  approved  of  Him,  and  owned  by  the  Holy  Spirit.      Cleave 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  i6i 

fast  to  the  Word  of  God,  which  is  here  mapped  out  to  you.     May  our  Father,  who 
is  in  Heaven,  smile  on  us  as  ever  !      Brethren,  pray  for — 

"  Your  affectionate  Minister, 

"  C.    H.   Spurgeon." 

I  have  never  seen  any  reason  to  aher  what  I  then  wrote,  and  I  would,  at  the 
present  time,  just  as  earnestly  commend  to  my  fellow-Christians  the  prayerful  study 
of  The  Baptist  Confession  of  Faith  as  I  did  in  the  early  years  of  my  ministry  in 
London,  for  I  believe  it  would  greatly  tend  to  the  strengthening  of  their  faith. 

I  have  already  stated  that,  as  soon  as  the  publication  of  the  sermons  was 
commenced,  the  Lord  set  His  seal  upon  them  in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  the 
restoration  of  backsliders,  and  the  edification  of  believers  ;  and,  to  His  praise,  I 
rejoice  to  write  that,  ever  since,  it  has  been  the  same.  For  many  years,  seldom  has 
a  day  passed,  and  certainly  never  a  week,  without  letters  reaching  me  from  all  sorts 
of  places,  even  at  the  utmost  ends  of  the  earth,  telling  me  of  the  salvation  of  souls 
by  means  of  one  or  other  of  the  sermons.  There  are,  in  the  long  series,  discourses 
of  which  I  may  say,  without  exaggeration,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  blessed  them  to 
hundreds  of  precious  souls  ;  and  long  after  their  delivery,  fresh  instances  of  their 
usefulness  have  come  to  light.      For  this,  to  God  be  all  the  glory  ! 

There  were  certain  remarkable  cases  of  blessing  through  the  reading  of  some 
of  the  very  earliest  of  the  sermons  ;  I  mention  these,  not  merely  because  of  the 
interest  naturally  attaching  to  them,  but  because  they  are  representative  of  many 
similar  miracles  of  mercy  that  have  been  wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost  all  through  the 
years  which  have  followed.  On  June  8,  1856,  I  preached  in  Exeter  Hall  from 
Hebrews  vii.  25  :  "  Wherefore  He  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them."  The 
sermon  was  published  under  the  title,  "  Salvation  to  the  Uttermost  ;  "  and,  more  than 
thirty  years  afterwards,  I  received  the  joyful  tidings  that  a  murderer  in  South  America 
had  been  brought  to  the  Saviour  through  reading  it.  A  friend,  living  not  far  from 
the  Tabernacle,  had  been  in  the  city  of  Para,  in  Brazil.  There  he  heard  of  an 
Englishman  in  prison,  who  had,  in  a  state  of  drunkenness,  committed  a  murder,  for 
which  he  was  confined  for  life.  Our  friend  went  to  see  him,  and  found  him  deeply 
penitent,  but  quietly  restful,  and  happy  in  the  Lord.  He  had  felt  the  terrible  wound 
of  blood-guiltiness  in  his  soul,  but  it  had  been  healed,  and  he  was  enjoying  the  bliss 
of  pardon. 

Here  is  the  story  of  the  poor  fellow's  conversion  as  told  in  his  own  words  : — "  A 
young  man,  who  had  just  completed  his  contract  at  the  gas-works,  was  returning 
to   England  ;    but,   before   doing  so,   he  called  to  see  me,  and  brought  with  him  a 

K 


1 62  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

parcel  of  books.  When  I  opened  it,  I  found  that  they  were  novels  ;  but,  being  able 
to  read,  I  was  thankful  for  anything.  After  I  had  read  several  of  the  books,  I  found 
one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  (No.  84),  in  which  he  referred  to  Palmer,  who  was 
then  lying  under  sentence  of  death  in  Stafford  Gaol,  and  in  order  to  bring  home  the 
truth  of  his  text  to  his  hearers,  he  said  that,  if  Palmer  had  committed  many 
other  murders,  if  he  repented,  and  sought  God's  pardoning  love  in  Christ,  even 
he  would  be  forgiven  !  I  then  felt  that,  if  Palmer  could  be  forgiven,  so  might  I.  I 
sought  the  Saviour,  and,  blessed  be  God,  I  found  Him  ;  and  now  I  am  pardoned,  I 
am  free  ;  I  am  a  sinner  saved  by  grace.  Though  a  murderer,  I  have  not  yet  sinned 
beyond  'the  uttermost,'  blessed  be  His  holy  Name  !  " 

It  made  me  very  happy  when  I  heard  the  glad  news  that  a  poor  condemned 
murderer  had  thus  been  converted,  and  I  am  thankful  to  know  that  he  is  not  the 
only  one  who,  although  he  had  committed  the  awful  crime  of  murder,  had,  through 
the  Spirit's  blessing  upon  the  printed  sermons,  been  brought  to  repentance,  and  to 
faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There  was  another  man,  who  had  lived  a  life  of 
drunkenness  and  unchastity,  and  who  had  even  shed  human  blood  with  his  bowie 
knife  and  his  revolver,  yet  he,  too,  found  the  Saviour,  and  became  a  new  man  ;  and 
when  he  was  dying,  he  charged  someone  who  was  with  him  to  tell  me  that  one  of 
my  discourses  had  brought  him  to  Christ.  "  I  shall  never  see  Mr.  Spurgeon  on 
earth,"  he  said,  "  but  I  shall  tell  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  about  him  when  I  get  to 
Heaven."  It  was  a  sermon,  read  far  away  in  the  backwoods,  that,  through  sovereign 
grace,  was  the  means  of  the  salvation  of  this  great  sinner. 

One  Saturday  morning  in  November,  1856,  when  my  mind  and  heart  were 
occupied  with  preparation  for  the  great  congregation  I  e.xpected  to  address  the  next 
day  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall,  I  received  a  long  letter  from  Norwich,  from 
a  man  who  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  an  infidel  society  in  that  city.  It  was 
most  cheering  to  me,  amid  the  opposition  and  slander  I  was  then  enduring,  to  read 
what  he  wrote  : — 

"  I  purchased  one  of  the  pamphlets  entitled,  'Who  is  this  Spurgeon?'  and  also 
your  portrait  (or  a  portrait  sold  as  yours)  for  3d.  I  brought  these  home,  and 
exhibited  them  in  my  shop-window.  I  was  induced  to  do  so  from  a  feeling  of 
derisive  pleasure.  The  title  of  the  pamphlet  is,  naturally,  suggestive  of  caricature, 
and  it  was  especially  to  convey  that  impression  that  I  attached  it  to  your  portrait, 
and  placed  it  in  my  window.  But  I  also  had  another  object  in  view,  I  thought  by 
its  attraction  to  improve  my  trade.  I  am  not  at  all  in  the  book  or  paper  business, 
which  rendered  its  exposure  and  my  motive  the  more  conspicuous,  i  have  taken  it 
down  now  :  /  am  taken  down,  too.  ...  I  had  bought  one  of  your  sermons  of  an 
infidel  a  day  or  two  previously.      In  that  sermon  I  read  these  words,  '  They  go  on  ; 


C.     H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRArHY.  1 63 

that  step  is  safe, — they  take  it  ;  the  next  is  apparently  safe, — they  take  that  ;  their 
foot  hangs  over  a  gulf  of  darkness.'  I  read  on,  but  the  word  darkness  staggered 
me  ;  it  was  all  dark  with  me.  I  said  to  myself,  '  True,  the  way  has  been  safe  so  far, 
but  I  am  lost  in  bewilderment  ;  I  cannot  go  on  as  I  have  been  going.  No,  no,  no  ; 
1  will  not  risk  it.'  I  left  the  apartment  in  which  I  had  been  musing,  and  as  I  did  so, 
the  three  words,  '  Who  can  tell  ? '  seemed  to  be  whispered  to  my  heart.  I  deter- 
mined not  to  let  another  Sunday  pass  without  visiting  a  place  of  worship.  How 
soon  my  soul  might  be  required  of  me,  I  knew  not ;  but  I  felt  that  it  would  be  mean, 
base,  cowardly,  not  to  give  it  a  chance  of  salvation.  '  Ay  !  '  I  thought,  '  my 
associates  may  laugh,  scoff,  deride,  and  call  me  coward  and  turncoat,  I  will  do  an 
act  of  justice  to  my  soul.'  I  went  to  chapel  ;  I  was  just  stupefied  with  awe.  \\"hat 
could  I  want  there  ?  The  doorkeeper  opened  his  eyes  wide,  and  involuntarily  asked, 
.'It's  Mr.  — ■ — ,  isn't  it?'  'Yes,'  I  said,  'it  is.'  He  conducted  me  to  a  seat,  and 
afterwards  brought  me  a  hymn-book.  I  was  fit  to  burst  with  anguish.  '  Now,'  I 
thought,  '  I  am  here,  if  it  be  the  house  of  God,  Heaven  grant  me  an  audience,  and 
I  will  make  a  full  surrender.  O  God,  show  me  some  token  by  which  I  may  know 
that  Thou  art,  and  that  Thou  wilt  in  no  wise  cast  out  the  vile  deserter  who  has 
ventured  to  seek  Thy  face  and  Thy  pardoning  mercy  ! '  I  opened  the  hymn-book  to 
divert  my  mind  from  the  feelings  that  were  rending  me,  and  the  first  words  that 
caught  my  eyes  were — 

"  '  Dark,  dark  indeed  the  grave  would  be 
Had  we  no  light,  O  God,  from  Thee  ! ' " 

After  mentioning  some  things  which  he  looked  upon  as  evidences  that  he  was  a  true 
convert,  the  man  closed  up  by  saying,  "  O  sir,  tell  this  to  the  poor  wretch  whose 
pride,  like  mine,  has  made  him  league  himself  with  hell  ;  tell  it  to  the  hesitating  and 
the  timid  ;  tell  it  to  the  desponding  Christian,  that  God  is  a  very  present  help  to  all 
that  are  in  need  !  .  .  .  Think  of  the  poor  sinner  who  may  never  look  upon  you  in 
this  world,  but  who  will  live  to  bless  and  pray  for  you  here,  and  long  to  meet  you  in 
the  world  exempt  from  sinful  doubts,  from  human  pride,  and  backsliding  hearts." 

After  that  letter,  I  heard  again  and  again  from  the  good  brother  ;  and  I  rejoiced 
to  learn  that,  the  following  Christmas-day,  he  went  into  the  market-place  at 
Norwich,  and  there  made  a  public  recantation  of  his  errors,  and  a  profession  ot  his 
faith  in  Christ.  Then,  taking  up  all  the  infidel  books  he  had  written,  or  that  he  had 
in  his  possession,  he  burned  them  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people.  I  blessed  God  with 
my  whole  heart  for  such  a  wonder  of  grace  as  that  man  was,  and  I  afterwards  had 
the  joy  of  learning  from  his  own  lips  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  soul,  and 
together  we  praised  and  magnified  Him  for  His  marvellous  mercy. 

Many  singular  things  have  happened  in  connection  with  the  publication  of  the 


1 64  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

sermons.  One  brother,  whose  name  I  must  not  mention,  purchased  and  gave  away 
no  less  than  250,000  copies.  He  had  volumes  bound  in  the  best  style,  and  presented 
to  every  crowned  head  in  Europe.  He  gave  copies,  each  containing  twelve  or 
more  sermons,  to  all  the  students  of  the  Universities,*  and  to  all  the  members 
of  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  he  even  commenced  the  work  of  distributing 
volumes  to  the  principal  householders  in  the  towns  of  Ireland.  May  the  good 
results  of  his  laborious  seed-sowing  be  seen  many  days  hence  !  The  self-denial 
with  which  this  brother  saved  the  expense  from  a  very  limited  income,  and  worked 
personally  in  the  distribution,  was  beyond  all  commendation  ;  but  praise  was  evaded 
and  observation  dreaded  by  him  ;  the  work  was  done  without  his  left  hand  knowing 
what  his  right  hand  did. 

In  the  first  days  of  our  publishing,  a  city  merchant  advertised  the  sermons  in  all 
sorts  of  papers,  offering  to  supply  them  from  his  own  office.  He  thus  sold  large 
quantities  to  persons  who  might  otherwise  never  have  heard  of  them.  He  was  not 
a  Baptist,  but  held  the  views  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  It  was  very  long  before  I 
knew  who  he  was,  and  I  trust  he  will  pardon  me  for  thus  calling  attention  to  a  deed 
for  which  I  shall  ever  feel  grateful  to  him.  By  my  permission,  the  sermons  were 
printed  as  advertisements  in  several  of  the  Australian  papers,  one  gentleman 
spending  week  by  week  a  sum  which  I  scarcely  dare  to  mention,  lest  it  should  not 
be  believed.  By  this  means,  they  were  read  far  away  in  the  Bush,  and  never  were 
results  more  manifest,  for  numbers  of  letters  were  received — in  answer  to  the  enquiry 
as  to  whether  the  advertisements  should  be  continued, — all  bearing  testimony  to  the 
crood  accomplished  by  their  being  inserted  in  the  newspapers.  A  selection  of  these 
letters  was  sent  to  me,  and  made  my  heart  leap  for  joy,  for  they  detailed  conversions 
marvellous  indeed.  Beside  these,  many  episdes  of  like  character  came  direct  to 
me,  showing  that  the  rough  dwellers  in  the  wilds  were  glad  to  find  in  their  secular 
paper  the  best  of  all  news,  the  story  of  pardon  bought  with  blood. 

(Some  particulars  of  these  conversions  will  be  given  in  a  later  volume,  together 
with  information  concerning  the  numerous  translations  into  foreign  languages.) 

In  America,  the  sale  of  the  first  volume  reached  20,000  In  a  very  short  time  ; 
and,  many  years  ago,  It  was  calculated  that  half  a   million  volumes  had  been  sold 

*  Mr.  Spurgeon's  copy  contains  forty-two  sermo'ns ;  it  is  lettered  on  the  back, — "  A  Curiosity  in  Religious  Literature." 
On  ttie  fly-leaf,  in  his  handwriting,  is  the  following  inscription : — "  Specimen  of  a  collection  of  sermons  given  to  all  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe,  and  the  students  of  Oxford;  Cambridge;  Trinity  College,  Dublin;  &c.,  &c." 

During  the  compilation  of  this  volume  of  the  Autobiography ,  Mrs.  Spurgeon  received  from  a  Church  of  England  clergyman 
a  letter  containing  the  following  reference  to  this  distribution  of  sermons  to  the  students  in  the  Universities : — 

"Over  thirty  years  ago,  when  an  undergraduate  at  Oxford,  one  of  our  men  came  into  College  with  a  volume  of  your 
husband's  sermons,  saying  that  someone  was  distributing  them  to  the  '  men  '  who  would  accept  them.  I  was  one  of  those  who  had 
the  privileged  gift,  and  have  since  read  it  through  and  through  with  advantage.  1  have  never  preached  knowingly  other  than  the 
doctrines  of  grace ;  and  though  the  clergy  round  about  are  mostly  Ritualists  and  Sacerdotalists,  thank  God  the  error  taught  by 
them  has  never  tempted  me !  " 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  165 

there.  Beside  this,  dozens  of  religious  papers  in  the  United  States,  and  Canada, 
and  elsewhere,  appropriate  the  sermons  bodily,  and  therefore  it  is  quite  impossible 
to  tell  where  they  go,  or  rather,  where  they  do  not  go.  For  all  these  opportunities 
of  speaking  to  so  large  a  portion  of  the  human  race,  I  cannot  but  be  thankftil  to  God, 
neither  can  I  refrain  from  asking  the  prayers  of  God's  people  that  the  gospel  thus 
widely  scattered  may  not  be  in  vain 

Brethren  in  the  ministry  will  be  best  able  to  judge  the  mental  wear  and  tear 
involved  in  printing  one  sermon  a  week,  and  they  will  most  sympathize  in  the  over- 
flowing gratitude  which  reviews  between  thirty  and  forty  years  of  sermons,  and 
magnifies  the  God  of  grace  for  help  so  long  continued.  The  quarry  of  Holy 
Scripture  is  inexhaustible,  I  seem  hardly  to  have  begun  to  labour  in  it ;  but  the 
selection  of  the  next  block,  and  the  consideration  as  to  how  to  work  it  into  form,  are 
matters  not  so  easy  as  some  think.  Those  who  count  preaching  and  its  needful 
preparations  to  be  slight  matters,  have  never  occupied  a  pulpit  continuously  month 
after  month,  or  they  would  know  better.  Chief  of  all  is  the  responsibility  which  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  involves  :  I  do  not  wish  to  feel  this  less  heavily,  rather  would 
I  feel  it  more  ;  but  it  enters  largely  into  the  account  of  a  minister's  life-work,  and 
tells  upon  him  more  than  any  other  part  of  his  mission.  Let  those  preach  lighdy 
who  dare  do  so  ;  to  me,  it  is  "  the  burden  of  the  Lord," — joyfully  carried  as  grace  is 
given  ;  but,  still,  a  burden  which  at  times  crushes  my  whole  manhood  into  the  dust 
of  humiliation,  and  occasionally,  when  ill-health  unites  with  the  mental  strain,  into 
depression  and  anguish  of  heart. 

However,  let  no  man  mistake  me.  I  would  sooner  have  my  work  to  do  than 
any  other  under  the  sun.  Preaching  Jesus  Christ  is  sweet  work,  joyful  work. 
Heavenly  work.  Whitefield  used  to  call  his  pulpit  his  throne,  and  those  who  know 
the  bliss  of  forgetting  everything  beside  the  glorious,  all-absorbing  topic  of  Christ 
crucified,  will  bear  witness  that  the  term  was  aptly  used.  It  is  a  bath  in  the  waters 
of  Paradise  to  preach  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  Heaven.  Scarcely  is  it 
possible  for  a  man,  this  side  the  grave,  to  be  nearer  Heaven  than  is  a  preacher  when 
his  Master's  presence  bears  him  right  away  from  every  care  and  thought,  save  the 
one  business  in  hand,  and  that  the  greatest  that  ever  occupied  a  creature's  mind  and 
heart.  No  tongue  can  tell  the  amount  of  happiness  which  I  have  enjoyed  in 
delivering  these  sermons,  and  so,  gende  reader,  forgive  me  if  I  have  wearied  you 
with  this  grateful  record,  for  I  could  not  refrain  from  inviting  others  to  aid  me  in 
praising  my  gracious  Master.  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within 
me,  bless  His  holy  Name." 

In  my  early  experience  as  an  author,  I  made  one  mistake  which  I  have  never 


i66  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

repeated.  For  my  volume,  The  Saint  and  his  Saviour,  which  contained  480  small 
octavo  pages,  I  accepted  from  Mr.  James  S.  Virtue  the  sum  of  ^50.  At  the  time 
I  entered  into  the  agreement, — within  about  a  year  of  my  coming  to  London, — the 
amount  seemed  to  me  large  ;  but  in  comparison  with  what  the  book  must  have 
brought  to  the  publisher,  it  was  ridiculously  small  ;  and  as  he  never  deemed  it  wise 
to  add  anything  to  it,  I  took  good  care  not  to  put  any  other  of  my  works  into  his 
hands,  but  entrusted  them  to  publishers  who  knew  how  to  treat  me  more  generously. 
After  the  volume  had  been  on  sale  for  more  than  thirty  years,  the  copyright  was 
offered  to  me  for  considerably  more  than  I  had  originally  received  for  it !  Neither 
my  publishers  nor  I  myself  thought  it  was  worth  while  to  buy  it  back  under  the 
circumstances,  so  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  my  good  friends,  Messrs.  Hodder 
and  Stoughton. 

(The  book  was  issued  in  the  United  States  soon  after  it  was  published  in 
England,  and  it  had  a  large  sale  there.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Spurgeon,  dated  "  New 
York,  Sept.  17,  1857,"  Messrs.  Sheldon,  Blakeman,  &  Co.,  who  for  many  years 
republished  his  works  on  mutually  advantageous  terms,  wrote  : — "  Messrs.  Virtue 
and  Son  sold  to  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  the  advance  sheets  of  The  Saint  and  his 
Saviour,  and  they  have  sold  them  to  us.  We  have  the  book  stereotyped  as  far 
as  we  have  received  the  sheets  ;  we  expect  the  rest  from  London  by  next  steamer, 
and  shall  then  immediately  issue  the  book.  We  are  delighted  with  it,  and  think  it 
will  take  well  with  our  people.") 

My  own  experiences  in  the  production  of  the  work  are  faithfully  described  in 
the    Preface  : — 

"  Never  was  a  book  written  amid  more  incessant  toil.  Only  the  fragments 
of  time  could  be  allotted  to  it,  and  intense  mental  and  bodily  exertions  have  often 
rendered  me  incapable  of  turning  even  those  fragments  to  advantage.  Writing 
is,  to  me,  the  work  of  a  slave.  It  is  a  delight,  a  joy,  a  rapture,  to  talk  out  my 
thoughts  in  words  that  flash  upon  the  mind  at  the  instant  when  they  are 
required  ;  but  it  is  poor  drudgery  to  sit  still,  and  groan  for  thoughts  and  words 
without  succeeding  in  obtaining  them.  Well  may  a  man's  books  be  called  his 
'  works ',  for,  if  every  mind  were  constituted  as  mine  is,  it  would  be  work  indeed  to 
produce  a  quarto  volume.  Nothing  but  a  sense  of  duty  has  impelled  me  to  finish 
this  little  book,  which  has  been  more  than  two  years  on  hand.  Yet  have  I,  at  times, 
so  enjoyed  the  meditation  which  my  writing  has  induced,  that  I  would  not  discon- 
tinue the  labour  were  it  ten  times  more  irksome  ;  and,  moreover,  I  have  some  hopes 
that  it  may  yet  be  a  pleasure  to  me  to  serve  God  with  the  pen  as  well  as  the  lip." 

Those  who   are  familiar  with    my   literary  career  know  how  abundantly  those 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  167 

"hopes"  have  been  realized  ;  yet,  at  the  time,  my  faithful  friend,  Dr.  John  Campbell, 
doubtless  expressed  what  many  beside  himself  felt  when  he  wrote  : — "  Such  hopes 
are  innocent,  and,  should  they  never  be  realized,  the  disappointment  will  not  be 
viewed  as  a  calamity.  We  think  it  will  be  wise  in  Mr.  Spurgeon,  however,  to 
moderate  his  expectations  in  this  quarter.  The  number  of  those  who,  either  in  past 
or  present  times,  have  attained  to  eminence  both  with  tongue  and  pen,  is  small. 
The  Greeks  produced  none,  and  the  Romans  only  one  ;  and  Great  Britain  has 
hardly  been  more  successful.  Charles  Fox,  not  satisfied  with  peerless  eminence  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  aspired  to  honour  in  the  field  of  history.  Thomas  Erskine, 
without  an  equal  at  the  Bar,  also  thirsted  for  literary  renown.  Each  made  the 
attempt,  and  gave  to  the  world  a  fragment,  presenting  not  the  slightest  impress  of 
their  towering  genius  as  orators,  and  otherwise  adding  nothing  to  their  fame.  These 
illustrious  men,  however,  were  perfectly  capable,  had  they  foresworn  eloquence,  and 
given  themselves  to  letters,  in  early  life,  to  have  taken  a  foremost  place  in  the  ranks 
of  literature  ;  and  so  is  Mr.  Spurgeon  ;  but  they  were  early  ensnared  by  their 
rhetorical  successes  ;  and  so  is  he.  By  incessant  speaking,  they  developed  to  the 
full,  and  cultivated  to  the  highest  extent,  oral  eloquence  ;  and  so  has  he.  After  this, 
they  could  not  endure  the  drudgery  necessary  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  composition 
till  it  became  a  pleasure  and  a  luxury  ;  and  neither  can  he.  Their  indisposition  to 
use  the  pen  increased  with  time,  and  so  will  his  ;  and  to  such  a  length  did  their 
self-created  incapacity  grow  on  them,  that  they  became  almost  incapable  of  corre- 
spondence ;  and  so  will  he.      We  believe  he  is  well-nigh  so  now  ! 

"  If  we  might  use  the  liberty,  we  would  say,  it  is  Mr.  Spurgeon's  wisdom  to 
know  his  place,  and  be  satisfied  to  occupy  it.  Let  him  rejoice  in  his  glorious 
mission,  and  continue  to  fulfil,  as  he  now  does,  its  exalted  obligations.  It  is  surely 
enough  to  satisfy  all  the  ambition  for  which  there  is  room  in  the  bosom  of  a  Christian 
man,  to  remain  supreme  in  the  realm  of  sacred  eloquence, — an  instrument,  beyond 
all  others,  intended  to  promote  the  salvation  of  sinners.  .  .  .  The  volume  throughout 
bears  the  stamp  of  a  rhetorical  genius,  and  indicates  a  practised  speaker  rather  than 
writer,  and  breathes  a  most  intense  concern  for  the  souls  of  men.  This  is  every- 
where the  prominent  idea,  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  everything  that  savours  of 
display.  We  dismiss  the  work  with  the  most  cordial  wish  for  its  success  in  further- 
ance of  the  great  object  with  which  it  was  prepared,  and  doubt  not  that,  however  tame 
and  gentle  as  compared  with  the  powerful  stream  of  life  and  fire  which  pervades  the 
sermons,  it  will,  in  its  own  way,  amply  contribute  to  the  same  grand  result, — the 
turning  of  men  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God." 

In  the  long  interval  which  necessarily  elapsed  between  my  undertaking  to  write 
The  Saint  and  his  Saviour  mvl  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  volume,  I  had  become 


i68 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


SO  attached  to  my  friends,  Mr.  Joseph  Passmore  and  Mr.  James  Alabaster,  that  I 
had  no  wish  to  have  any  other  pubHshers  as  long  as  I  lived.  Our  relationship  has 
been  one  of  the  closest  intimacy,  and  I  think  they  would  join  with  me  in  saying  that 


/U^rC<A^  ^'L'C.£^,T,.C>C^ 


^S^7 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


169 


it  has  been  of  mutual  benefit ;  and  our  business  arrangements  have  been  such  as 
Christian  men  would  desire  to  make  so  that  in  all  things  God  might  be  glorified. 
The  young  partners  began  in  a  very  humble  fashion  in  Wilson  Street,  Finsbury,  and 
they  were  afterwards  able  to  tell  a  wonderful  story  of  how  the  Lord  prospered  and 
blessed  them  there.  The  very  speedy  and  unprecedented  success  of  the  publications 
made   it  difficult  at  times   to   cope   with  the  extraordinary  rush   of  orders  ;  but,  bv 


-^Uuid  ^!MJ^^ 


setting  themselves  manfully  to  the  task,  and  using  all  the  help  available,  they  were 
able  to  lay  a  solid  foundation  for  the  future  well-being  of  the  firm,  which  afterwards 
migrated  to  Litde  Britain,  and  then  to  Fann  Street,  Aldersgate  Street.  (See 
illustration  on  page  174.)  I  have  often  asked  Mr.  Passmore  the  question  whether  I 
write  for  him,  or  he  prints  for  me  ; — whether  he  is  my  employer,  or  I  am  his.  He 
says  that  I  am  "the  Governor,"  so  perhaps  that  settles  the  point. 


170 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


(The  following  selection  from  the  hundreds  of  letters  written  by  Mr.  Spurgeon 
to  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Passmore,  during  their  long  and  intimate  association,  will  afford  just  a 
glimpse  of  the  happy  friendship  which  existed  between  them,  and  also  of  the  business 
relationship  which  remained  throughout  one  of  unbroken  harmony.  This  communica- 
tion was  so  characteristic  that  it  was  deemed  worthy  of  reproduction  in  facsimile  : — 


«t.    A-^i—trz.   Ct^tt^^SZir^ 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  171 

This  letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  at  the  close  of  one  of  the  many 
Continental  tours  on  which  Mr.  Passmore  had  been  his  companion  : — 

"  Boulogne, 

"  Dec.  23. 

"  My  Dear  Mrs.  Passmore, 

"  Your  noble  husband  is  sitting  before  the  fire  on  one  chair,  with  his  legs 
up  on  another,  and  as  it  seemed  to  be  a  pity  to  disturb  His  Royal  Highness,  I 
offered  to  write  to  you  for  him,  and  he  accepted  the  offer.  I  am  happy  to  say  that 
our  mutually  respected  and  beloved  Joseph  is  much  better,  and  will,  1  hope,  arrive 
at  Park  Lodge  in  first-rate  condition  about  7  or  8  o'clock  on  Friday.  The  sea  is 
in  an  excited  condition,  and  I  fear  none  of  us  will  need  an  emetic  when  crossing 
to-morrow  ■  but  it  will  be  better  arranged  than  if  we  had  the  management  of  it,  no 
doubt. 

"  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  lending  me  your  worser  half  so  kindly. 
He  is  a  dear,  kind,  generous  soul,  and  worth  his  weight  in  angels  any  day.  I  hope 
all  the  young  folk  are  quite  well.  My  dear  wife  says  you  are  bonnie,  which  is 
vastly  better  than  being  bony. 

"  My  kindest  regards  are  always  with  you  and  yours.      Pray  accept  my  love, 

and  I  daresay  His  Royal  Highness,  the  King  of  Little  Britain,*  would  send  his  also; 

but   he   is  so   much   engrossed  in   reading   The    Standard,    that   I    have  not  asked 

about  it. 

"Yours  ever  truly, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon." 

The  two  next  letters  need  scarcely  any  explanation  ;  yet  it  would  be  interesting 
to  know  whether  all  authors  write  in  as  genial  a  spirit  when  promised  "  proofs  "  do 
not  arrive  at  the  appointed  time,  and  whether  all  publishers  possess  such  grateful 
acknowledgments  of  amounts  paid  to  them  by  the  writers  whose  works  they  have 
printed  : — 

"  Dear  Mr.   Passmore, 

"  Have  you  retired  from  business  ?  For,  if  not,  I  should  be  glad  of 
proofs  for  the  month  of  November  of  a  book  entided  Morning  by  Morning  which, 
unless  my  memory  fails  me,  you  began  to  print.  I  was  to  have  had  some  matter  on 
Monday  ;  and  it  is  now  Wednesday.  Please  jog  the  friend  who  has  taken  your 
business,  and  tell  him  that  you  always  were  the  very  soul  of  punctuality,  and  that  he 
must  imitate  you. 

*  Where  the  priming-offices  were  situated  at  that  time. 


172  C.     H.     SPURG&ON's     AUTOBIOGRAniY. 

"I  send  a  piece  for  October  31,  for  I  can't  find  any  proof  for  that  date.  Please 
let  the  gentleman  who  has  taken  your  business  have  it  soon. 

"  Yours  ever  truly, 

"  C.     H.    SrURGEON." 

"  P.S. — Has  Mr.  Alabaster  retired,  too  ?  I  congratulate  you  both,  and  hope  the 
new  firm  will  do  as  well.  What  is  the  name  ?  I'll  make  a  guess, — Messrs.  Quick 
AND  Speedy." 

"  My  Dear  Mr.  Passmore, 

"  As  you  have  to-day  paid  to  me  the  largest  amount  I  have  ever  received 
from  your  firm  at  one  time,  I  seize  the  opportunity  of  saying,  what  I  am  sure  you 
know  already,  that  I  am  most  sincerely  thankful  to  God  for  putting  me  into  your 
hands  in  my  publishing  matters.  My  connection  with  you  has  been  one  of 
unmingled  satisfaction  and  pleasure.  Your  liberality  has  beeii  as  great  as  it 
has  been  spontaneous.  Had  I  derived  no  personal  benefit,  it  would  have  delighted 
me  to  see  ;)'02i  prosper,  for  my  interest  in  you  is  as  deep  as  if  you  w^ere  my  own 
brother,  as  indeed  in  the  best  sense  you  are.  From  you  and  your  partner,  I  have 
received  nothing  but  kindness,  courtesy,  and  generosity.  My  share  of  profits  has 
always  exceeded  my  e.xpectations,  and  the  way  it  has  been  given  has  been  even  more 
valuable  than  the  money  itself.  God  bless  you  both  in  your  business  and  your 
families  !  May  your  health  be  recruited,  and  as  long  as  we  live,  may  we  be  on  as 
near  and  dear  terms  as  we  ever  have  been  !  I  am  afraid  I  sometimes  tease  you 
when  I  grumble  in  my  peculiar  way  ;  but  I  never  intend  anything  but  to  let  you 
know  where  a  screw  may  be  loose  with  your  workmen,  and  not  because  I  really  have 
anything  to  complain  of  Your  growing  welfare  lies  very  near  my  heart,  and  nothing 
gives  me  more  pleasure  than  to  see  you  advance  in  prosperity. 

"  I  need  not  add  my  Christian  love  to  you  as  my  friend  and  deacon. 

"  Yours  ever  truly, 

"  C.     H.    SrURGEON." 

Although  the  following  letter  is  of  much  later  date  than  the  preceding  ones,  it 
is  inserted  here  to  show  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  as  much  consideration  for  the 
welfare  of  a  little  messenger-boy  as  he  had  for  the  principals  of  the  firm  : — 

"  Westwood, 

"Beulah    Hill, 

*'  Upper  Norwood, 

"  March  nth,  1891. 
"  Dear  Mr.  Passmore, 

"  When  that  good  little  lad  came  here  on  Monday  with  the  sermon,  late 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  173 

at  night,  it  was  needful.  But  please  blow  somebody  up  for  sending  the  poor  little 
creature  here,  late  to-night,  in  all  this  snow,  with  a  parcel  much  heavier  than  he 
ought  to  carry.  He  could  not  get  home  till  eleven,  I  fear  ;  and  I  feel  like  a  cruel 
brute  in  being  the  innocent  cause  of  having  a  poor  lad  out  at  such  an  hour  on  such 
a  night.  There  was  no  need  at  all  for  it.  Do  kick  somebody  for  me,  so  that  it  may 
not  happen  again. 

"  Yours  ever  heartily, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon." 

During  his  later  years,  Mr.  Spurgeon  inserted  in  The  Stvord  and  the  Trowel 
portraits  and  sketches  of  his  deacons  and  friends  whom  he  afterwards  intended  to 
include  in  his  Autobiography.  This  chapter  may,  therefore,  be  appropriately  closed 
with  the  paragraph  relating  to  Mr.  Passmore  which  was  published  in  the  Magazine 
for  April,  1891, — almost  the  last  number  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  personally  edited  : — 

"  Fifty-eight  years  ago,  Joseph  Passmore  was  the  first  boy  to  be  enrolled  in  the 
Sunday-school  of  the  new  chapel  in  New  Park  Street.  He  was  a  nephew  of  Dr. 
Rippon,  who  was  then  the  venerable  Pastor.  March  ist,  1840,  he  joined  the  church 
by  baptism,  and  in  the  January  of  1862  he  was  elected  deacon.  He  and  his  esteemed 
wife  have  been  among  the  most  faithful  members  of  the  church  all  these  long  years, 
and  their  children  have  followed  in  their  footsteps.  Mr.  Joseph  Passmore,  Junr.,  of 
'The  Row,'  has  long  been  a  valued  member  of  the  church,  and  Mr.  James  Passmore 
is  a  deacon.  On  the  first  Sunday  evening  of  our  visiting  London,  Mr.  Passmore 
walked  home  with  us  to  our  lodgings  in  Queen's  Square,  and  from  that  day  to  this 
our  friendship  has  been  of  the  most  intimate  character.  With  some  trembling,  the 
weekly  publication  of  the  sermons  was  commenced,  but  it  has  not  been  intermitted 
these  six-and-thirty  years  ;  neither  has  there  been  a  jarring  note  in  all  our  fellowship 
through  the  printing-press.  Mr.  Passmore  has  usually  shared  our  journeys  and 
our  holidays,  and  we  trust  he  will  yet  do  so  for  many  years.  His  partner,  Mr. 
Alabaster,  though  a  member  of  another  denomination,  is  a  brother  in  the  Lord, 
whom  we  highly  esteem  ;  but  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  find  in  Mr.  Passmore  at  once 
a  deacon,  publisher,  and  friend.  Mr.  Passmore  has  thus  seen,  in  the  pastorate  of 
our  church,  Dr.  Rippon,  Dr.  Angus,  James  Smith,  Mr.  Walters,  and  ourselves.  He 
has  taken  his  share  in  the  building  and  conduct  of  the  Tabernacle,  College, 
Almshouses,  and  Orphanage  ;  and  all  in  so  quiet  and  unobtrusive  a  manner  that  he 
has  been  always  more  useful  than  prominent,  more  felt  than  heard.  God  grant  that 
such  helpers  may  long  be  spared  to  us  !  " 

Mr.  Passmore  was  spared  to  his  beloved  Pastor,  and  was  one  of  the  sincerest 
and  deepest  mourners  when  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  '  called  home  ''  on  January  31,  1892. 


174 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


In  the  following  November,  his  partner  and  close  personal  friend  for  forty  years,  Mr. 
Alabaster,  also  received  the  summons,  "Come  up  higher;"  on  August  i,  1895,  the 
message  came  for  Mr.  Passmore  ;  and  on  January  31,  1896,  Mrs.  Passmore  rejoined 
the  loved  ones  in  the  presence  of  the  King. 

It  was  Mr.  Spurgeon's  intention  to  include  in  his  Atitobiography  illustrations 
of  the  buildings  in  which  his  works  were  printed  and  published.  Accordingly,  the 
accompanying  view  has  been  prepared. 


For  several  years,  the  printing  was  done  in  the  premises  represented  on  the 
right-hand  side  of  the  picture  ;  but  this  year — 1898 — the  firm  has  erected  new 
buildings  in  Whitecross  Street.  The  publishing  and  sale  of  the  works  were  for 
many  years  carried  on  at  23,  and  18,  Paternoster  Row,  and  now  that  portion  of  the 
business  has  its  headquarters  at  4,  Paternoster  Buildings,  which  is  represented  on 
the  left-hand  side  of  the  illustration.) 


CHAPTER    XLVIII. 


Carls  m^mtti  lift 

By    Mrs.    C.    H.    Spurgeon. 

Matrimony  came  from  Paradise,  and  leads  to  it.  I  never  was  half  so  happy,  before  I  was  a 
married  man,  as  I  am  now.  When  you  are  married,  your  bliss  begins.  Let  the  husband  love  his  wife 
as  he  loves  himself,  and  a  little  better,  for  she  is  his  better  half  He  should  feel,  "  If  there's  only  one 
good  wife  in  the  whole  world,  I've  got  her."  John  Ploughman  has  long  thought  lust  that  of  his  own 
wite;  and  after  thirty-five  years,  he  is  more  sure  of  it  than  ever.  There  is  not  a  better  woman  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe  than  his  own,  very  own  beloved.— ^0.4 «  Ploughman. 


GAIN  the  responsible  task  lies  before  me  of  interweaving  my  own 
dearest  personal  memories  with  my  beloved's  Ajitobiography,  that 
the  picture  of  his  life's  history  may  glow  with  the  fair  colours  and 
present  some  of  the  finishing  touches  which  are  needed  to  render 
it  as  complete  as  possible.  Alas,  that  his  dear  hand  is  powerless 
to  furnish  them  !  Every  line  I  write  fills  me  with  regret  that  I 
cannot  better  set  forth  the  remembrance  of  his  worth  and  goodness. 

Someone  wrote  to  me,  lately,  saying  that  it  was  impossible  for  a  man's  nearest 
friends  to  give  a  true  and  impartial  idea  of  him  ;  they  lived  in  too  close  proximity 
to  him,  their  vision  was  interrupted  by  their  admiration,  they  could  not  see  many 
things  that  others,  looking  on  from  a  remoter  and  broader  coign  of  vantage,  could 
distinctly  discern.  This  seems  to  me  a  great  mistake,  except  indeed  in  cases  where 
"  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view  ; "  for  who  could  so  reasonably  be  supposed 
to  understand  and  recognize  the  inner  qualities  and  disposition  of  an  individual's 
character  as  the  one  who  lived  in  constant  and  familiar  intercourse  with  him,  and  to 
whom  his  heart  was  as  a  clear,  calm  lake,  reflecting  Heaven's  own  light  and  beauty  .'' 
Those  who  knew  my  husband  best,  can  testify  that  intimate  knowledge  of  his 
character,  and  close  companionship  with  him,  did  but  more  clearly  reveal  how  very 
near,  by  God's  grace,  he  had  "  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ."  Not  in  his  own  estimation,  be  it  well  understood  ; — he  never  spoke  of  him- 
self as  "  having  apprehended  ;" — he  was  always  "a  poor  sinner,  and  nothing  at  all." 
So  pre-eminently  and  gloriously  was  "Jesus  Christ  his  All-in-all"  that  his  gracious, 
gentle,  lovely  life  testified  daily  to  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  heart,  ana 


1/6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

the  exceeding  power  of  God  which  kept  him  through  faith,  and  enabled  him  to 
"  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  he  was  called."  Robert  Murray  M'Cheyne 
used  to  pray  : — "  O  God,  make  me  as  holy  as  a  pardoned  sinner  can  be  made  !  "  and, 
to  judge  by  my  husband's  life,  a  similar  petition  must  have  been  constantly  in  his 
heart  if  not  on  his  lips. 

Our  brief  wedding  trip  was  spent  in  Paris  ;  and,  as  I  had  made  many  previous 
visits  to  the  fair  city,  beside  spending  some  months  in  the  Christian  household  of 
Pastor  Audebez,  in  order  to  acquire  the  language,  I  felt  quite  at  home  there,  and 
had  the  intense  gratification  of  introducing  my  husband  to  all  the  places  and  sights 
which  were  worthy  of  arousing  his  interest  and  admiration.  We  had  a  cosy  suite  of 
rooms  (by  special  favour)  in  the  entresol  of  the  Hotel  Meurice,  and  every  day  we 
explored  some  fresh  musSe,  or  church,  or  picture-gallery,  or  drove  to  some  place  of 
historic  fame,  all  the  charms  of  Paris  seeming  ten  times  more  charming  in  my  eyes 
than  they  had  ever  been  before,  because  of  those  other  loving  eyes  which  now 
looked  upon  them  with  me. 

The  city  was  then  in  the  days  of  her  luxury  and  prosperity  ;  no  Communistic 
fires  had  scorched  and  blackened  her  streets,  no  turbulent  mobs  had  despoiled  her 
temples  and  palaces,  and  laid  her  glories  in  the  dust  ;  she  was  triumphant  and 
radiant,  and  in  the  pride  of  her  heart  was  saying,  "1  sit  a  queen,  .  .  .  and  shall  see 
no  sorrow."  Alas  !  there  were  days  of  calamity  and  tribulation  in  store  for  her,  when 
war,  and  bloodshed,  and  fire,  and  famine  ravaged  her  beauty,  and  laid  waste  her 
choice  habitations.  But  no  forecast  of  such  terrible  visitations  troubled  our 
hearts  ;  the  halo  of  the  present  illumined  all  the  future.  We  went  to  Versailles,  to 
Sevres,  to  the  Louvre,  the  Madeleine,  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  the  Luxembourg,  the 
Hotel  de  Cluny  ;  in  fact,  to  every  place  we  could  find  time  for,  where  Christian 
people  might  go,  and  yet  bring  away  with  them  a  clear  conscience.  A  peep  at  the 
Bourse  interested  us  very  much.  What  a  scene  of  strife  it  was  !  What  a  deafening 
noise  the  men  made !  My  husband  quaintly  depicted  the  excitement  in  a  few 
words  : — "  The  pot  boiled  more  and  more  furiously  as  the  hour  of  three  approached, 
and  then  the  brokers,  like  the  foam  on  the  top,  ran  over,  and  all  the  black  contents 
followed  by  degrees ! "  Anyone  acquainted  with  the  place  and  its  customs  will 
recognize  the  accuracy  and  humour  of  this  graphic  description. 

Naturally,  the  interiors  of  the  churches  attracted  much  of  our  attention  ;  we 
always  found  something  to  admire,  though,  alas  !  there  was  also  much  to  deplore. 
When  we  visited  the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  I  was  able  to  interest  my  companion 
by  telling  him  that  I  had  seen  it  in  full  gala  dress  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of 
the  Emperor  Napoleon  II L  to  his  charming  Empress  Eugenie,  and  how  glittering 
and  gorgeous  it  then  looked,  with  its  abundant  draperies  ot  imperial  purple  velvet, 


C.      H.      SPURGEON  S     AUTOlilOGRAI'HY. 


177 


embroidered  all  over  with  golden  bees  !  All  the  wealth  and  riches  of  the  great 
sanctuary  were  then  pressed  into  service,  and  the  result  was  magnificent.  Without 
such  adornments,  the  church  has  a  simple  and  solemn  grandeur  ot  its  own,  very 
soothing  to  the  mind  ;  and,  at  the  time  of  which  T  am  writing,  its  sanctity  was 
enhanced — in  the  opinion  of  its  Roman  Catholic  worshippers, — by  its  possession  of 
such  sacred  relics  as  part  of  the  true  cross,  and  the  crown  of  thorns  !  These  were 
shown  to  visitors  on  payment  of  an  extra  fee,  as  was  also  an  amazing  number  of 
splendid  vestments  encrusted  with  gold  and  jewels,  and  worth  a  prince's  ransom.  I 
believe  that,  at  the  time  of  the  Commune,  much  of  this  treasure  was  carried  away,  or 
ruthlessly  destroyed. 


EXTERIOR    OF    LA    SAINTE    CHAPELLE,    PARIt 


The  beauty  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle  specially  delighted  us,  and  we  went  there 
more  than  once.      "  It  is  a  little  heaven  of  stained  glass,"  was  my  beloved's  verdict  ; 


178 


H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


and,  truly,  its  loveliness  looked  almost  celestial,  as  we  stood  enwrapped  in  its 
radiance,  the  light  of  the  sinking  sun  glorifying  its  matchless  windows  into  a  very 
dream  of  dazzling  grace  and  harmony  of  colour. 


INTERIOR    OF    LA    SAINTE    CHAPELLE,    PARIS. 

Then  there  were  St.  Roch,  St.^  Sulpice,  Ste.  Clotilde,  and  hosts  of  other 
churches,  not  forgetting  St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  a  grand  edifice,  containing  the 
sumptuous  shrine  of  Ste.  Genevieve, — in  its  way,  a  perfect  gem  ; — nor  St.  Germain 
I'Auxerrois,  with  its  ancient  rose  windows,  and  its  pathetic  memories  of  the 
betrayed  Huguenots. 

The  Pantheon,  too,  once  a  temple,  now  a  church,  received  a  share  of  our 
interested  attention.  So  far  as  I  can  remember,  the  building  itself  was  almost  empty, 
except  for  some  statues  ranged  around  it  ;  but  we  descended  to  the  crypt,  which 
contains  the  tombs  of  Rousseau,  Voltaire,  and  other  notable  or  notorious  men,  and 


H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


179 


we  listened,  with  something  Hke  fear,  to  the  thunderous  echo  which  lurks  there,  and 
attracts  visitors  to  these  subterranean  vaults.  It  is  very  loud  and  terrible,  like  a 
cannon  fired  off,  and  it  gives  one  quite  an  uncanny  feeling  to  hear  such  a  deafening- 
roar  down  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  After  this  experience,  we  were  very  glad 
to  get  into  the  fresh  air  again. 

Of  course,  v/e  went  to  St.  Cloud  (now,  alas  !  in  ruins).  There  is — or  was — 
a  lonely,  lovely  walk  through  the  Park  to  the  summit  of  an  eminence  crowned  by  the 
lantern  of  Diogenes.      From   there,  the  view  was  olorious.      The   Seine   flowed  far 


CHURCH     OF     ST.     CLKMAIN     LALXtRROIS,     I'AKlb. 

(IVhere  the  tocsin  was  rung  for  the  massacre  of  the  Hugiteno'.s.) 

below,  the  suburbs  of  the  city  lay  beyond  ;  Mont  Valerien  on  the  right,  Paris  straight 
before  one's  eyes,  with  the  gilded  dome  of  the  Invalides  shining  in  the  clear  air; 
St.  Sulpice,  and  the  Pantheon,  and  countless  spires  and  towers  forming  landmarks  in 
the  great  sea  of  houses  and  streets,  the  twin  heights  of  Montmartre  and  Pere  la 
Chaise  in  the  background  ;  all  these  grouped  together,  and  viewed  from  the  hill, 
formed  an  indescribably  charming  picture. 

I  tried  to  be  a  good  cicerone,  and  I  think  I  fairly  succeeded,  for  my  companion 
was  greatly  delighted,  and,  in  after  years,  in  his  frequent  visits  to  the  French  capital 


l8o  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

with  friends  and  fellow-voyagers,  he  took  upon  himself  the  role  of  conductor,  with  the 
happiest  and  most  satisfactory  results.  He  was  never  at  a  loss  where  to  go,  or  how 
to  spend  the  time  in  the  most  pleasant  and  profitable  manner.  A  little  note,  written 
from  Paris,  twenty  years  alter  our  wedding  trip,  contains  the  following  sentences  : — 
"  My  heart  flies  to  you,  as  I  remember  my  first  visit  to  this  city  under  your  dear 
guidance.      I  love  you  now  as  then,  only  multiplied  many  times." 

Ah  !  "  tender  grace  of  a  day  that  is  dead,"  thy  joy  is  not  lessened  by  distance, 
nor  lost  by  separation  ;  rather  is  it  stored  both  in  Heaven  and  in  my  heart's  deepest 
chambers,  and  some  day,  when  that  casket  is  broken,  it  will  "come  back  to  me,"  not 
here,  but  in  that  happy  land  where  the  days  die  not,  where  "  the  touch  of  a  vanished 
hand  "  shall  be  felt  again,  and  "  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still  "  shall  again  make 
music  in  my  ravished  ears  ! 

'Twas  a  brief,  bright  season,  this  wedding  trip  of  ours,  lasting  about  ten  days, 
for  my  husband  could  not  leave  his  sacred  work  for  a  longer  time,  and  we  were  both 
eager  to  return  that  we  might  discover  the  delights  of  having  a  home  of  our  own,  and 
enjoy  the  new  sensation  of  feeling  ourselves  master  and  mistress  of  all  we  surveyed  ! 
What  a  pure  unsullied  joy  was  that  home-coming  !  How  we  thanked  and  praised  the 
Lord  for  His  exceeding  goodness  to  us  in  bringing  us  there,  and  how  earnesdy  and 
tenderly  my  husband  prayed  that  God's  blessing  might  rest  upon  us  then  and 
evermore  !  How  we  admired  everything  in  the  house,  and  thought  there  never  was 
quite  such  a  delightful  home  before,  will  be  best  understood  by  those  who  have  lived 
in  Love-land,  and  are  well  acquainted  with  the  felicity  of  setting  up  house-keeping 
there.  On  the  table,  in  the  little  sitting-room,  lay  a  small  parcel,  which,  when 
opened,  proved  to  be  a  dainty  card-case  as  a  wedding  present  from  Mr.  W.  Poole 
Balfern,  accompanied  by  the  following  lines,  which  I  have  transcribed  and  recorded 
here  since  they  were  truly  our  first  "Welcome  Home,"  and,  in  a  sense,  prophetic  of 
our  future  lives  : — 

"  A  Nuptial  Wish. 

"  Dear  friends,  I  scarce  know  what  to  say 
On  this  important  nuptial  day. 
I  wish  you  joy  ;  and  while  you  live. 
Such  gifts  as  only  God  can  give. 
Whether  life  be  short  or  long. 
Dark  with  grief  or  bright  with  song, 
Whether  sorrowful  or  glad, 
Whether  prosperous  or  sad, 
Oh,  that  you,  through  Christ,  may  be 
Heirs  of  immortality  ; — 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  l8l 

Heirs  of  righteousness  and  peace, 
Heirs  of  life  that  ne'er  shall  cease, 
Heirs  of  glories  yet  to  come, 
Heirs  of  the  Eternal  Home! 
In  the  valley,  on  the  height, 
In  the  darkness,  in  the  light  ; 
Still  possessed  of  living  grace, 
Pressing  on  with  eager  pace  ; 
Ever  keeping  Christ  in  view. 
Meek  and  humble,  just  and  true  ; 
Helpers  of  each  other's  faith. 
One  in  Him,  in  life  and  death  ; 
By  His  Spirit  taught  and  led,  • 
By  His  grace  and  mercy  fed. 
Blessed  and  guarded  by  His  love, 
Till  with  Him  you  meet  above." 

I  think  the  circumstances  under  which  my  beloved  and 
Mr.  Balfern  met,  are  also  worthy  of  a  passing  notice  One 
Saturday,  the  time  for  sermon-preparation  had  arrived,  and  the 
dear  preacher  had  shut  himself  up  in  his  study,  when  a  minis- 
terial visitor  was  announced.  He  would  not  give  his  name,  but 
said,  "  Tell  Mr.  Spurgeon  that  a  servant  of  the  Lord  wishes  to 
see  him."  To  this  my  husband  replied,  "  Tell  the  gentleman 
that  I  am  so  busy  with  his  Master,  that  I  cannot  attend  to  the 
servant."  Then  word  was  sent  that  W.  Poole  Balfern  was  the 
visitor,  and  no  sooner  did  Mr.  Spurgeon  hear  the  name,  than  he 
ran  out  to  him,  clasped  his  hand  in  both  his  own,  and  exclaimed,  "  W.  Poole 
Balfern  !  The  man  who  wrote  Glimpses  of  Jesus  !  Come  in,  thou  blessed  of  the 
Lord  !  "  Describing  that  interview,  long  afterwards,  Mr.  Balfern  said,  "  I  learned 
then  that  the  secret  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  success  was,  that  he  was  cradled  in  the 
Holy  Gliost."  It  was  a  very  remarkable  expression,  which  I  do  not  remember  to 
have  met  with  anywhere  else  ;  but  it  was  as  true  as  it  was  striking. 


So  many  memories  cling  about  our  first  home,  and  so  many  notable  events  of 
early  married  life  transpired  within  its  walls,  that  I  must  ask  my  readers  kindly  to 
refer  to  the  view  given  in  Vol.  I.,  page  5,  that  they  may  the  more  readily  understand 
the  description  which  follows.  On  the  ground  floor,  the  single  window — now  almost 
hidden  by  a  tree,  planted  since  the  days  of  which   I   write,— marks  the  little  front 


l82 


C.     II.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


parlour  or  "  living-room  ",  in  old-fashioned  parlance,  where  the  greater  part  ol  the 
home-life  was  spent ;  above  this,  and  boasting  two  windows,  was  a  very  fair-sized 
room,  the  best  in  the  house,  and,  therefore,  devoted  to  the  best  of  uses, — the 
master's  study  ;  and  the  two  windows  immediately  over  this  belonged  to  a  bed- 
chamber of  the  same  size,  where  afterwards  our  twin-boys  first  saw  the  light  of  day. 
It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  here  that,  in  all  the  houses  we  have  lived  in, — four 


THE   LIBRARY   AX    "  VVESTWOOD.'' 

in  all, — we  never  encumbered  ourselves  with  what  a  modern  writer  calls,  "  the  draw- 
back of  a  drawing-room  ;  "  perhaps  for  the  good  reason  that  we  were  such  homely, 
busy  people  that  we  had  no  need  of  so  useless  a  place  ; — but  more  especially,  I  think, 
because  the  "  best  room  "  was  always  felt  to  belong  by  right  to  the  one  who 
"laboured  much  in  the  Lord." 

Nev^er   have  I   regretted   this   early   decision  ;    it   is   a   wise  arrangement   for   a 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  183 

minister's  house,  if  not  for  any  other.  When  we  first  came  to  "  Westwood,"  where 
there  is  a  fine  room  for  society  purposes,  there  was  much  merry  discussion  as  to  how 
it  should  be  furnished.  Already,  the  large  billiard-room  was  converted  into  a  study, 
and  filled  with  books  from  the  fioor  to  the  arch  of  the  ceiling  ;  but  more  space  was 
needed  for  my  husband's  precious  volumes,  and  his  heart  was  set  on  seeing  the 
grand  room  turned  into  an  equally  grand  library.  I  proposed,  with  great  glee,  that 
we  should  go  on  the  "  Boffin's  Bower  "  plan  ; — "  She  keeps  up  her  part  of  the  room 
in  her  way  ;  I  keeps  up  my  part  of  the  room  in  mine  ; "  and  with  shouts  of  laughter 
we  would  amuse  ourselves  by  imagining  the  big  room  fitted  up  for  half  its  length  as 
"  my  lady's  parlour,"  the  other  half  being  devoted  to  literary  pursuits,  and  so 
arranged  that  "Silas  Wegg "  could  come  and  "drop  into  poetry"  whenever  it  so 
pleased  him  !  In  time,  the  question  settled  itself  It  was  quite  twelve  months  before 
the  huge  bookshelves,  which  were  to  line  the  room,  were  completed,  and  put  in 
place,  and  then,  it  looked  so  fine  a  library,  that  none  could  doubt  its  right  or  claim 
to  this  honourable  appellation.      But  this  is  a  digression. 

We  began  housekeeping  on  a  very  modest  scale,  and  even  then  had  to  practise 
rigid  economy  in  all  things,  for  my  dear  husband  earnestly  longed  to  help  young 
men  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  from  our  slender  resources  we  had  to  contribute 
somewhat  largely  to  the  support  and  education  of  Mr.  T.  W.  Medhurst,  who  was 
the  first  to  receive  training  for  the  work.  From  so  small  a  beginning  sprang  the 
present  Pastors'  College,  with  its  splendid  record  of  service  both  done  and  doing,  of 
which  fuller  account  will  be  given  in  future  chapters.  I  rejoice  to  remember  how  I 
shared  my  beloved's  joy  when  he  founded  the  Institution,  and  that,  together,  we 
planned  and  pinched  in  order  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  his  loving  heart  ;  it  gave 
me  quite  a  motherly  interest  in  the  College,  and  "our  own  men."  The  chief 
difficulty,  with  regard  to  money  matters  in  those  days,  was  to  "make  both  ends 
meet  ;"  we  never  had  enough  left  over  to  "tie  a  bow  and  ends  ;"  but  I  can  see  now 
that  this  was  God's  way  of  preparing  us  to  sympathize  with  and  help  poor  pastors 
in  the  years  which  were  to  come. 

One  of  these  good  men,  when  recounting  to  me  the  griefs  of  his  poverty,  once 
said,  "  You  can  scarcely  understand,  for  you  have  never  been  in  the  same  position  ;" 
but  my  thoughts  flew  back  to  this  early  time,  and  I  could  truly  say,  "  I  may  not  have 
been  in  such  depths  of  need  as  seem  now  likely  to  swallow  you  up  ;  but  I  well 
remember  when  we  lived  on  the  '  do  without  '  system,  and  only  '  God's  providence 
was  our  inheritance,'  and  when  He  often  stretched  forth  His  hand,  and  wrought 
signal  deliverances  for  us,  when  our  means  were  sorely  straitened,  and  the  coffers  of 
both  College  and  household  were  well-nigh  empty."  I  recall  a  special  time  of  need, 
supplied  by  great  and  unexpected  mercy.      Some  demand  came  in   for  payment, — I 


184  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

think  it  must  have  been  a  tax  or  rate,  for  I  never  had  bills  owing  to  tradesmen, — 
and  we  had  nothing  wherewith  to  meet  it.  What  a  distressing  condition  ot  excite- 
ment seized  us  !  "  Wifey,"  said  my  beloved,  "  what  can  we  do  ?  I  must  give  up 
hiring  the  horse,  and  walk  to  New  Park  Street  every  time  I  preach  !  "  "  Impossible," 
I  replied,  "with  so  many  services,  you  simply  could  not  do  it."  Long  and  anxiously 
we  pondered  over  ways  and  means,  and  laid  our  burden  before  the  Lord,  entreating 
Him  to  come  to  our  aid.  And,  of  course,  He  heard  and  answered,  for  He  is  a 
faithful  God.  That  night,  or  the  next  day,  I  am  not  sure  which,  a  letter  was 
received,  containing  ^20  for  our  own  use,  and  we  never  knew  who  sent  it,  save  that 
it  came  in  answer  to  prayer  !  This  was  our  first  united  and  personal  home  experi- 
ence of  special  necessity  provided  for  by  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  our  hearts  felt 
a  very  solemn  awe  and  gladness  as  we  realized  that  He  knew  what  things  we  had 
need  of  before  we  asked  Him.  As  the  years  rolled  by,  such  eventful  passages  in 
our  history  were  graciously  multiplied,  and  even  excelled  ;  but  perhaps  this  first 
blessed  deliverance  was  the  foundation  stone  of  my  husband's  strong  and  mighty 
faith,  for  I  do  not  remember  ever  afterwards  seeing  him  painfully  an.xious  concerning 
supplies  for  any  of  his  great  works  ;  he  depended  wholly  on  the  Lord,  his  trust  was 
perfect,  and  he  lacked  nothing. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 


dFarlp     OT:Cllt[tll     Mt    (Continued). 


Sometimes  we  have  seen  a  model  marriage,  founded  on  pure  love,  and  cemented  in  mutual  esteem. 
Therein,  the  husband  acts  as  a  tender  head ;  and  the  wife,  as  a  true  spouse,  realizes  the  model 
marriage-relation,  and  sets  forth  what  our  oneness  with  the  Lord  ought  to  be.  She  delights  in  her 
husband,  in  his  person,  his  character,  his  affection ;  to  her,  he  is  not  only  the  chief  and  foremost  of 
mankind,  but  in  her  eyes  he  is  all-in-all ;  her  heart's  love  belongs  to  him,  and  to  him  only.  She  finds 
sweetest  content  and  solace  in  his  company,  his  fellowship,  his  fondness  ;  he  is  her  little  world,  her 
Paradise,  her  choice  treasure.  At  any  time,  she  would  gladly  lay  aside  her  own  pleasure  to  find  it 
doubled  in  gratifying  him.  She  is  glad  to  sink  her  individuality  in  his.  She  seeks  no  renown  for  herself ; 
his  honour  is  reflected  upon  lier,  and  she  rejoices  in  it.  She  would  defend  his  name  with  her  dymg 
breath ;  safe  enough  is  he  where  she  can  speak  for  him.  The  domestic  circle  is  her  knigdom  ;  that  she 
may  there  create  happiness  and  comfort,  is  her  life-work  ;  and  his  smiling  gratitude  is  all  the  reward 
she  seeks.  Even  in  her  dress,  she  thinks  of  him;  without  constraint  she  consults  his  taste,  and  considers 
nothing  beautiful  which  is  distasteful  to  him.  A  tear  from  his  eye,  because  of  any  unkindness  on  her 
part,  would  grievously  torment  her.  She  asks  not  how  her  behaviour  may  please  a  stranger,  or  how 
another's  judgment  may  approve  her  conduct;  let  her  beloved  be  content,  and  she  is  glad.  He  has 
many  objects  in  life,  some  ot  which  she  does  not  quite  understand  ;  but  she  believes  in  them  all,  and 
anything  that  she  can  do  to  promote  them,  she  delights  to  perform.  He  lavishes  love  on  her,  and, 
in  return,  she  lavishes  love  on  him.  Their  object  in  life  is  common.  There  are  points  where  their 
affections  so  intimately  unite  that  none  could  tell  which  is  first  and  which  is  second.  To  watch  their 
children  growing  up  in  health  and  strength,  to  see  them  holding  posts  of  usefulness  and  honour,  is 
their  mutual  concern  :  ui  this  and  other  matters,  they  are  fully  one.  Their  wishes  blend,  their  hearts 
are  indivisible.  By  degrees,  they  come  to  think  very  much  the  same  thoughts.  Intuiiate  association 
creates  conformity ;  1  have  known  this  to  become  so  complete  that,  at  the  same  moment,  the  same 
utterance  has  leaped  to  both  their  lips. 

Happy  woman  and  happy  man  !  If  Heaven  be  found  on  earth,  they  have  it !  At  last,  the  two  are 
so  blended,  so  engrafted  on  one  stem,  that  their  old  age  presents  a  lovely  attachment,  a  common 
sympathy,  by  which  its  infirmities  are  greatly  alleviated,  and  its  burdens  are  transformed  into  fresh 
bonds  of  love.  So  happy  a  union  of  will,  sentiment,  thought,  and  heart  exists  between  them,  that  the 
two  streams  of  their  life  have  washed  away  the  dividing  bank,  and  run  on  as  one  broad  current  of  united 
existence  till  their  common  joy  falls  into  the  ocean  of  eternal  felicity.— C.  H.  S. 

^/■^^^^^gnj  HERE  are  one  or  two  little  pictures  which  memory  has  retained 
ot  events  in  that  little  front  parlour  whose  window  looks  into  the 
road.  I  will  try  to  reproduce  them,  though  the  colours  are  some- 
what faded,  and  the  backgrounds  blurred  with  age. 


It  is  the  Sabbath,  and  the  day's  work  is  done.  The  dear 
preacher  has  had  a  light  repast,  and  now  rests  in  his  easy  chair  by  a  bright  fire, 
while,  on  a  low  cushion  at  his  feet,  sits  his  wife,  eager  to  minister  in  some  way  to 
her  beloved's  comfort.  "Shall  I  read  to  you  to-night,  dear?"  she  ■  says  ;  for  the 
excitement  and  labour  of  the  Sabbath  services  sorely  try  him,  and  his  mind  needs 
some  calm  and  soothing    influence  to  set  it  at  rest.     "  Will  you    have   a   page  or 


i86  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

two  of  good  George  Herbert  ?"  "  Yes,  that  will  be  very  refreshing,  wifey  ;  I  shall 
like  that."  So  the  book  is  procured,  and  he  chooses  a  portion  which  I  read  slowly 
and  with  many  pauses,  that  he  may  interpret  to  me  the  sweet  mysteries  hidden 
within  the  gracious  words.  Perhaps  his  enjoyment  of  the  book  is  all  the  greater 
that  he  has  thus  to  explain  and  open  out  to  me  the  precious  truths  enwrapped  in 
Herbert's  quaint  verse  ; — anyhow,  the  time  is  delightfully  spent.  I  read  on  and  on 
for  an  hour  or  more,  till  the  peace  of  Heaven  flows  into  our  souls,  and  the  tired 
servant  of  the  King  of  kings  loses  his  sense  of  fatigue,  and  rejoices  after  his  toil. 

Another  Sabbath  night,  and  the  scene  is  somewhat  changed  in  character.  The 
dear  Pastor  is  not  only  weary,  but  sorely  depressed  in  spirit.  "Oh,  darling!"  he 
says,  "  I  fear  I  have  not  been  as  faithful  in  my  preaching  to-day  as  I  should  have 
been  ;  I  have  not  been  as  much  in  earnest  after  poor  souls  as  God  would  have  me 
be.  O  Lord,  pardon  Thy  servant  !  "  "  Go,  dear,"  he  continues,  "  to  the  study,  and 
fetch  down  Baxter's  Reformed  Pastor,  and  read  some  of  it  to  me  ;  perhaps  that  will 
quicken  my  sluggish  heart."  So  I  bring  the  book,  and  with  deep  sighs  he  turns  the 
pages  till  he  finds  some  such  passage  as  the  following  : — "  Oh,  what  a  charge  have 
we  undertaken  !  And  shall  we  be  unfaithful  ?  Have  we  the  stewardship  of  God's 
own  family,  and  shall  we  neglect  it?  Have  we  the  conduct  of  those  saints  who 
must  live  for  ever  with  God  in  glory,  and  shall  we  be  unconcerned  for  them  ?  God 
forbid  !  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  let  this  thought  awaken  the  negligent  !  You  that 
draw  back  from  painful,  displeasing,  suffering  duties,  and  will  put  off  men's  souls 
with  ineffectual  formalities  ;  do  you  think  this  is  an  honourable  usage  of  Christ's 
Spouse  ?  Are  the  souls  of  men  thought  meet  by  God  to  see  His  face,  and  live  for 
ever  in  His  glory,  and  are  they  not  worthy  of  your  utmost  cost  and  labour  ?  Do 
you  think  so  basely  of  the  Church  of  God,  as  if  it  deserved  not  the  best  of  your  care 
and  help  ?  Were  you  the  keepers  of  sheep  or  swine,  you  might  better  let  them  go, 
and  say,  *  They  be  not  worth  the  looking  after  ; '  and  yet  you  would  scarcely  do  so, 
if  they  were  your  own.      But  dare  you  say  so  by  the  souls  of  men  1  " 

I  read  page  after  page  of  such  solemn  pleadings,  interrupted  now  and  again 
by  his  stifled  heart-sobs,  till  my  voice  fails  from  emotion  and  sympathy,  my  eyes 
grow  dim,  and  my  tears  mingle  with  his  as  we  weep  together, — he,  from  the 
smitings  of  a  very  tender  conscience  towards  God,  and  I,  simply  and  only 
because  I  love  him,  and  want  to  share  his  grief.  Not  for  a  moment  do  I 
believe  there  is  any  real  cause  for  his  self-upbraidings  ;  but  as  that  is  a  matter 
between  himself  and  his  God,  I  can  only  comfort  him  by  my  quiet  sympathy.  "The 
burden  of  the  Lord  "  is  upon  his  heart,  and  He  lets  him  feel  the  awful  weight  of 
it  for  a  time,  that  "the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God,"  and  not  of  man. 
"  Who  teacheth  like  Him  ?  " 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  187 

In  the  same  small  room  occurred  also  a  touching  little  scene  which  I  have 
described  in  Ten  Years  After !  but  which  cannot  be  left  out  of  this  history,  for  it 
has  a  right  to  a  place  here,  revealing,  as  it  does,  the  tenderness  of  my  beloved's 
heart,  while  he  still  consistently  put  "first  things  first."  He  was  constantly  away 
from  home  fulfilling  preaching  engagements  of  long  or  short  duration,  and  these 
frequent  absences  were  a  trial  to  me,  though  I  kept  faithfully  to  my  purpose  of  never 
hindering  him  in  his  work.  But  I  remember  how,  while  waiting  for  his  return,  late 
at  night,  from  some  distant  place,  I  would  tire  of  the  cramped  space  of  the  tiny 
parlour,  and  pace  up  and  down  the  narrow  passage, — dignified  by  tlje  name  of  a 
"  hall," — watching  and  listening  for  the  dear  footstep  I  knew  so  well,  and  praying, — 
oh,  how  fervently  ! — ^that  the  Lord  would  care  for  his  precious  life,  and  avert  all 
danger  from  him  as  he  travelled  back  by  road  or  rail.  I  can  even  now  recall  the 
thrill  of  joy  and  thankfulness  with  which  I  opened  the  door,  and  welcomed  him 
home. 

One  morning,  after  breakfast,  when  he  was  preparing  to  go  out  on  one  of  his 
long  journeys,  the  room  looked  so  bright  and  cosy  that  a  sudden  depression  seized 
me  at  the  thought  of  its  emptiness  when  he  was  gone,  and  the  many  anxious  hours 
that  must  pass  before  I  should  see  him  again.  Some  tears  would  trickle  down  my 
cheeks,  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to  restrain  them.  Seeing  me  look  so  sad,  he  said,  very 
gently,  "  Wifey,  do  you  think  that,  when  any  of  the  children  of  Israel  brought  a  lamb 
to  the  Lord's  altar  as  an  offering  to  Him,  they  stood  and  wept  over  it  when  they 
had  seen  it  laid  there?"  "Why,  no!  "  I  replied,  startled  by  his  strange  question, 
"  certainly  not  ;  the  Lord  would  not  have  been  pleased  with  an  offering  reluctantly 
given."  "Well,"  said  he,  tenderly,  "don't  you  see,  you  are  giving  me  to  God,  in 
letting  me  go  to  preach  the  gospel  to  poor  sinners,  and  do  you  think  He  likes  to  see 
you  cry  over  your  sacrifice  ?  "  Could  ever  a  rebuke  have  been  more  sweetly  and 
graciously  given  ?  It  sank  deep  into  my  heart,  carrying  comfort  with  it  ;  and, 
thenceforward,  when  I  parted  with  him,  the  tears  were  scarcely  ever  allowed  to  show 
themselves,  or  if  a  stray  one  or  two  dared  to  run  over  the  boundaries,  he  would  say, 
"  What !  crying  over  your  lamb,  wifey  !  "  and  this  reminder  would  quickly  dry  them 
up,  and  bring  a  smile  in  their  place. 

Ah,  sweetheart  !  was  there  ever  one  like  thee  ?  These  were  the  days  of  early 
married  life,  it  is  true,  when  love  was  young,  and  temper  tranquil,  and  forbearance 
an  easy  task  ;  but  "  the  wife  of  thy  youth  "  can  testify  that,  with  thee,  these  lovely 
things  of  good  report  strengthened  rather  than  diminished  as  time  went  on,  and  that, 
during  all  the  forty  years  she  knew  and  loved  thee,  thou  wert  the  most  tender, 
gracious,  and  indulgent  of  husbands,  ruling  with  perfect  love  and  gentleness, 
maintaining  the  Divinely-ordained  position  of  "  the  head  of  the  wife,  even  as  Christ 


Io5  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

is  the  Head  of  the  Church,"  yet  permitting  her  heart  and  hand  to  influence  and  share 
in  every  good  word  and  work. 

And  now  that  I  am  parted  from  thee,  not  for  a  few  days  only,  as  in  that  long- 
ago  time,  but  "  until  the  day  break,  and  the  shadows  flee  away,"  I  think  I  hear 
again  thy  loving  voice  saying,  "  Don't  cry  over  your  Iamb,  wifey,"'  as  I  try  to  give 
thee  up  ungrudgingly  to  God, — not  without  tears, — ah,  no  !  that  is  not  possible, 
but  with  that  full  surrender  of  the  heart  which  makes  the  .sacrifice  acceptable  in  His 
sight. 

An  extraordinary  incident  occurred  in  this  early  period  of  our  history.  One 
Saturday  evening,  my  dear  husband  was  deeply  perple.xed  by  the  difficulties 
presented  by  a  text  on  which  he  desired  to  preach  the  next  morning.  It  was  in 
Psalm  ex.  3  ;  "Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  Thy  power,  in  the  beauties 
of  holiness  from  the  womb  of  the  morning  :  Thou  hast  the  dew  of  I'hy  youth  ;  "  and, 
with  his  usual  painstaking  preparation,  he  consulted  all  the  Commentaries  he  then 
possessed,  seeking  light  from  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  their  words  and  his  own 
thoughts  ;  but,  as  it  seemed,  in  vain.  I  was  as  much  distressed  as  he  was,  but  I 
could  not  help  him  in  such  an  emergency.  At  least,  I  thought  I  could  not  ;  but  the 
Lord  had  a  great  favour  in  store  for  me,  and  used  me  to  deliver  His  servant  out 
of  his  serious  embarrassment.  He  sat  up  very  late,  and  was  utterly  worn  out  and 
dispirited,  for  all  his  efforts  to  get  at  the  heart  of  the  text  were  unavailing.  I 
advised  him  to  retire  to  rest,  and  soothed  him  by  suggesting  that,  if  he  would  try  to 
sleep  then,  he  would  probably  in  the  morning  feel  quite  refreshed,  and  able  to  study 
to  better  purpose.  "  If  I  go  to  sleep  now,  wifey,  will  you  wake  me  very  early,  so 
that  I  may  have  plenty  of  time  to  prepare  ? "  With  my  loving  assurance  that  I 
would  watch  the  time  for  him,  and  call  him  soon  enough,  he  was  satisfied  ;  and,  like 
a  trusting,  tired  child,  he  laid  his  head  upon  the  pillow,  and  slept  soundly  and  sweetly 
at  once. 

By-and-by,  a  wonderful  thing  happened.  During  the  first  dawning  hours  of 
the  Sabbath,  I  heard  him  talking  in  his  sleep,  and  roused  myself  to  listen  attentively. 
Soon,  I  realized  that  he  was  going  over  the  subject  of  the  verse  which  had  been  so 
obscure  to  him,  and  was  giving  a  clear  and  distinct  exposition  of  its  meaning,  with 
much  force  and  freshness.  I  set  myself,  with  almost  trembling  joy,  to  understand  and 
follow  all  that  he  was  saying,  for  I  knew  that,  if  I  could  but  seize  and  remember  the 
salient  points  of  the  discourse,  he  would  have  no  difficulty  in  developing  and  enlarging 
upon  them.  Never  preacher  had  a  more  eager  and  anxious  hearer  !  What  if  I 
should  let  the  precious  words  slip  ?  I  had  no  means  at  hand  of  "  taking  notes,"  so, 
like  Nehemiah,  "  I   prayed  to  the  God  of  Heaven,"  and  asked  that  I  might  receive 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


and  retain  the  thoughts  which  He  had  given  to  His  servant  in  his  sleep,  and  which 
were  so  singularly  entrusted  to  my  keeping.  As  I  lay,  repeating  over  and  over  again 
the  chief  points  I  wished  to  remember,  my  happiness  was  very  great  in  anticipation 
of  his  surprise  and  delight  on  awaking  ;  but  I  had  kept  vigil  so  long,  cherishing  my 
joy,  that  I  must  have  been  overcome  with  slumber  just  when  the  usual  time  for  rising 
came,  for  he  awoke  with  a  frightened  start,  and  seeing  the  tell-tale  clock,  said,  "  Oh, 
wifey,  you  said  you  would  wake  me  very  early,  and  now  see  the  time  !  Oh,  why  did 
you  let  me  sleep  .^  What  shall  I  do.''  What  shall  I  do?"  "Listen,  beloved,"  I 
answered;  and  I  told  him  all  I  had  heard.  "Why  !  that's  just  what  I  wanted,"  he 
exclaimed;  "that  is  the  true  explanation  of  the  whole  verse!  And  you  say  I 
preached  it  in  my  sleep.''"  "  It  is  wonderful,"  he  repeated  again  and  again,  and  we 
both  praised  the  Lord  for  so  remarkable  a  manifestation  of  His  power  and  love. 
Joyfully  my  dear  one  went  clown  to  his  study,  and  prepared  this  God-given  sermon, 
and  it  was  delivered  that  same  morning,  April  13,  1856,  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel. 
It  can  be  found  and  read  in  Vol.  II.  of  the  sermons  (No.  74),  and  its  opening 
paragraph  gives  the  dear  preacher's  own  account  of  the  difficulty  he  experienced 
in  dealing  with  the  text.  Naturally,  he  refrained  from  telling  the  congregation  the 
special  details  which  I  have  here  recorded  ;  but,  many  years  after,  he  told  the  tale  to 
his  students  at  one  of  their  ever-to-be-remembered  Friday  afternoon  gatherings,  and 
some  of  them  still  keep  it  fresh  in  their  memories. 

About  this  time,  I  recall  a  visit  to  Stambourne  which  I  paid  with  my  dear 
husband.  I  saw,  and  loved  at  first  sight,  the  dear  old  grandfather,  so  proud  of  "the 
child  "  who  had  grown  into  a  great  and  gracious  preacher.  How  kindly  he  received 
his  grandson's  wife  !  With  what  tender,  old-fashioned  courtesy  he  cared  for  her ! 
Everything  about  the  place  was  then  exactly  as  my  beloved  has  described  it  in  the 
first  volume  of  this  work  ;  nothing  had  been  altered.  The  old  Manse  was  still 
standing,  though  not  as  upright  as  in  its  youth  ;  the  ivy  grew  inside  the  parlour,  the 
old  flowered  chintz  curtains  still  hung  in  their  places,  and  the  floor  of  the  best  bed- 
chamber where  we  slept  was  as  "  anxious  to  go  out  of  the  window  "  as  ever  ;  indeed, 
a  watchful  balancing  of  one's  self  was  required  to  avoid  a  stumble  or  a  fall.  It  was  all 
very  quaint,  but  very  delightful,  because  of  so  many  precious  memories  to  him  who 
had  lived  there.  The  occasion  of  our  visit  was  the  anniversary,  either  of  the 
meeting-house,  or  the  revered  Pastor's  ministry,  and  the  house  was  crowded  with 
visitors,  and  unremitting  hospitality  seemed  the  order  of  the  day.  How  delighted  and 
mterested  the  home  folks  and  neighbours  all  were,  and  how  much  loving  fuss  was 
made  over  the  young  Pastor  and  his  wife  !  It  was  charming  to  see  him  in  the  midst 
of  his  own  people.  He  was  just  "  the  child"  again,  the  joy  of  the  old  man's  heart ; 
but  when  he  preached,  and  the  power  of  God's  Spirit  burned  in  his  words,  and  he  fed 


igO  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

the  people  to  the  full,  the  grandfather's  bliss  must  have  been  a  foretaste  of  the  joys 
of  Heaven. 

For  my  part,  I  had  a  considerable  share  of  petting  and  kind  attention,  and  but 
one  black  drop  in  my  cup  of  pleasure.  This  I  mean  literally  ;  I  was  enjoying  a  large 
cup  of  tea,  and  thinking  how  good  and  refreshing  it  was  on  a  hot  day,  when,  as  the 
bottom  of  the  cup  was  becoming  visible,  I  saw,  to  my  horror,  a  great  spider, — my 
special  detestation, — dead,  of  course,  his  black  body  swollen  to  a  nuge  size,  and  his 
long  legs  describing  a  wheel-like  circle  in  the  remaining  fluid.  And  I  had  been 
drinking  the  boiled  juice  of  this  monster  !  Oh,  the  disgust  of  it !  Alas  !  that  we 
can  remember  the  evil,  and  let  go  the  good  !  My  beloved's  sermon  is  forgotten  ; 
but  the  spider  has  the  power  to  make  me  feel  "  creepy  "  even  at  this  moment  ! 

I  make  a  passing  reference  to  the  birth  of  our  twin-boys,  in  order  to  contradict 
emphatically  a  story,  supposed  to  be  very  witty,  which  was  circulated  extensively, 
and  believed  in  universally,  not  only  at  the  time  it  was  told,  but  through  all  the 
following  years.  It  was  said  that  my  dear  husband  received  the  news  of  the  addition 
to  his  household  while  he  was  preaching,  and  that  he  immediately  communicated 
the  fact  to  his  congregation,  adding  in  a  serio-comic  way, — 

"  Not  more  than  others  I  deserve. 
But  God  has  given  me  more." 

I  am  sorry  to  say  there  are  persons,  still  living,  who  declare  that  they  were  present 
at  the  service,  and  heard  him  say  it  ! 

Now  the  truth  is,  that  the  boys  were  born  on  Saturday  morning,  September  20> 
1856,  and  my  dear  husband  never  left  the  house  that  day  ;  nor,  so  far  as  I  know,  did 
he  ever  preach  on  the  seventh  day  at  any  time,  so  the  statement  at  once  falls  to  the 
ground  disproved.  But  I  think  I  have  discovered  how  the  legend  was  manufactured. 
Looking  through  the  sermons  preached  near  to  this  date,  I  find  that,  on  Thursday 
evening,  September  25, — iive  days  after  the  event  referred  to, — Mr.  Spurgeon 
delivered  a  discourse  on  behalf  of  the  Aged  Pilgrims'  Friend  Society,  and  in  the 
course  of  it  made  the  following  remarks: — "When  we  take  our  walks  abroad,  and 
see  the  poor,  he  must  be  a  very  thankless  Christian  who  does  not  lift  up  his  eyes  to 
Heaven,  and  praise  his  God  thus, — 

"'Not  more  than  others  I  deserve, 
But  God  has  given  me  more. 

'  If  we  were  all  made  rich  alike,  if  God  had  given  us  all  abundance,  we  should  never 
know  the  value  of  His  mercies  ;  but  He  puts  the  poor  side  by  side  with  us,  to  make 
their  trials,  like  a  dark  shadow,  set  forth  the  brightness  which  He  is  pleased  to  give 
to  others  in  temporal  matters." 


C.      H       SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  I9I 

I  have  no  doubt  that  some  facetious  individual,  present  at  this  Thursday 
evening  service,  and  being  aware  of  the  babies'  advent,  on  hearing  these  Hnes 
repeated,  pounced  upon  them  as  the  nucleus  of  an  attractive  story,  linked  the  two 
facts  in  his  own  mind,  and  then  proclaimed  them  to  the  world  as  an  undivided  verity  ! 
Most  of  the  stories  told  of  my  dear  husband's  jocoseness  in  the  pulpit  were  "  stories  " 
in  the  severe  sense  of  the  word  ;  or  possessed  just  so  small  a  modicum  of  truth  inter- 
nally that  the  narrators  were  able,  by  weaving  a  network  of  exaggeration  and  romance 
around  them,  to  make  a  very  presentable  and  alluring  fiction.  It  was  one  of  the 
penalties  of  his  unique  position  and  gifts  that,  all  through  his  life,  he  had  to  bear  the 
cross  of  cruel  misrepresentation  and  injustice.  Thank  God,  that  is  all  left  behind 
for  ever  ! 

Though  I  am  quite  certain  that  the  lines  in  question  were  not  quoted  by  my 
beloved  in  public  in  reference  to  the  double  blessing  God  gave  to  us,  I  should 
scarcely  be  surprised  if  he  made  use  of  them  when  speaking  to  friends  in  private.  If 
his  heart  were  full  of  joy  and  gratitude,  it  would  be  sure  to  bubble  over  in  some 
child-like  and  natural  fashion.  I  have  quite  recently  received  a  letter  from  a  lady  in 
the  country,  telling  me  ot  her  visit  to  an  old  man, — an  e.x-policeman,  named 
Coleman, — who,  though  bedridden,  never  tires  of  relating  his  memories  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon  in  those  early  days.  He  was  stationed  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  on 
special  duty,  when  the  crowds  came  to  hear  "  the  boy-preacher,"  and  he  delights 
to  tell  how,  after  a  short  while,  the  street  became  so  blocked  that  the  chapel-gates 
had  to  be  closed,  and  the  people  admitted  a  hundred  at  a  time.  "  Ah  !  "  said  he, 
"  he  was  a  dear,  good  young  man,  he  did  not  make  himself  anything  ;  he  would 
shake  hands  with  anyone,  he  would  give  me  such  a  grip,  and  leave  half-a-crown  in 
my  hand  ;  he  knew  that  we  policemen  had  a  rub  to  get  along  on  our  pay.  I  know- 
there  were  many  he  helped  with  their  rent.  He  did  look  pleased,  that  Sunday 
inoninig,  zvhen  he  said,  '  Coleman,  what  do  you  think  ?  God  has  blessed  me  with  tivo 
sons  ! '  I  used  to  go  in  and  sit  just  inside  the  door,  and  get  a  feast  for  my  soul  from 
his  discourses.      I  shall  see  him  again  soon,  I  hope." 

Of  course,  this  little  story  lacks  the  piquancy  and  sparkle  of  the  former  one  ; 
but  it  has  the  advantage  of  being  t/-ue. 

There  was  one  other  notable  time  in  the  front  parlour.  It  recurs  to  me,  at  this 
moment,  as  the  first  falling  of  that  black  shadow  of  sorrow  which  the  Lord  saw  fit  to 
cast  over  our  young  and  happy  lives.  It  was  again  a  Sabbath  evening.  I  lay  on  a 
couch  under  the  window,  thinking  of  my  dear  one  who  had  gone  to  preach  his  first 
sermon  at  the  Surrey  Music  Hall,  and  praying  that  the  Lord  would  bless  his 
message  to  the  assembled  thousands.  It  was  just  a  month  since  our  children  were 
born,  and   I  was  dreaming  of  all  sorts  ot  lovely  possibilities   and  pleasures,  when  I 


1^2  .  C.     H.     SPURGEON's     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

heard  a  carriage  stop  at  the  gate.  It  was  far  too  early  for  my  husband  to  come 
home,  and  I  wondered  who  my  unexpected  visitor  could  be.  Presently,  one  of  the 
deacons  was  ushered  into  the  room,  and  I  saw  at  once,  from  his  manner,  that 
something  unusual  had  happened.  I  besought  him  to  tell  me  all  quickly,  and  he 
did  so,  kindly,  and  with  much  sympathy  ;  and  he  kneeled  by  the  couch,  and  prayed 
that  we  might  have  grace  and  strength  to  bear  the  terrible  trial  which  had  so  suddenly 
come  upon  us.  But  how  thankful  I  was  when  he  went  away  !  I  wanted  to  be 
alone,  that  I  might  cry  to  God  in  this  hour  of  darkness  and  death  !  When  my 
beloved  was  brought  home,  he  looked  a  wreck  of  his  former  self, — an  hour's  agony 
of  mind  had  changed  his  whole  appearance  and  bearing.  The  night  that  ensued  was 
one  of  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  indescribable  sorrow.  He  refused  to  be  comforted. 
I  thought  the  morning  would  never  break  ;  and  when  it  did  come,  it  brought  no 
relief 

The  Lord  has  mercifully  blotted  out  from  my  mind  most  of  the  details  of  the 
time  of  grief  which  followed,  when  my  beloved's  anguish  was  so  deep  and  violent 
that  reason  seemed  to  totter  on  her  throne,  and  we  sometimes  feared  he  would  never 
preach  again.  It  was  truly  "the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death"  through  which 
we  then  walked  ;  and,  like  poor  Christian,  we  here  "  sighed  bitterly,"  for  the 
pathway  was  so  dark  "that,  ofttimes,  when  we  lifted  up  our  toot  to  set  forward, 
we  knew  not  where  or  upon  what  we  should  set  it  next !  " 

It  was  in  the  garden  of  a  house  belonging  to  one  of  the  deacons,  in  the  suburbs 
of  Croydon,  whither  my  beloved  had  been  taken  in  hope  that  the  change  and  quiet 
would  be  beneficial,  that  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  restore  his  mental  equilibrium,  and 
unloose  the  bars  which  had  kept  his  spirit  in  darkness.  We  had  been  walking 
together,  as  usual  ; — he,  restless  and  anguished  ;  I,  sorrowful  and  amazed,  wondering 
what  the  end  of  these  things  would  be  ;— when,  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  which  gave 
access  to  the  house,  he  stopped  suddenly,  and  turned  to  me,  and  with  the  old  sweet 
light  in  his  eyes,  (ah  !  how  grievous  had  been  its  absence  !)  he  said,  "  Dearest,  how 
foolish  I  have  been  !  Why  !  what  does  it  matter  what  becomes  of  me,  if  the  Lord- 
shall  but  be  glorified  ?  " — and  he  repeated,  with  eagerness  and  intense  emphasis, 
Philippians  ii.  9 — 11  :  "Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted  Him,  and  given 
Him  a  Name  which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at  the  Name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  Heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ; 
and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father."  "  If  Christ  be  exalted,"  he  said, — and  his  face  glowed  with  holy 
fervour, — "let  Him  do  as  He  pleases  with  me  ;  my  one  prayer  shall  be,  that  I  may 
die  to  self,  and  live  wholly  for  Him  and  for  His  honour.  Oh,  wifey,  I  see  it  all 
now  !     Praise  the  Lord  with  me  !  " 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  193 

In  that  moment,  his  fetters  were  broken,  the  captive  came  forth  from  his 
dungeon,  and  rejoiced  in  the  Hght  of  the  Lord.  The  Sun  of  righteousness  arose 
once  more  upon  him,  with  heaHng  in  His  wings.  But  he  carried  the  scars  of  that 
conflict  to  his  dying  day,  and  never  afterwards  had  he  the  physical  vigour  and 
strength  which  he  possessed  before  passing  through  that  fierce  trial.  Verily,  it  was 
a  thorny  path  by  which  the  Lord  led  him.  Human  love  would  have  protected  him 
at  any  cost  from  an  ordeal  so  terrible,  and  suffering  so  acute  ;  but  God's  love  saw 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  "  He  never  makes  a  mistake."  Though  we  may 
not,  at  the  time,  see  His  purpose  in  the  afflictions  which  He  sends  us,  it  will  be 
plainly  revealed  when  the  light  of  eternity  falls  upon  the  road  along  which  we  have 
journeyed. 

While  staying  at  Mr.  Winsor's  hospitable  home,  where  he  so  kindly  received 
and  sheltered  us  in  the  time  oi  our  trouble,  it  was  decided  that  the  babies  should 
be  there  dedicated  to  the  Lord,  and  His  service.  So,  when  our  dear  patient  seemed 
sufficiently  recovered  to  take  part  in  the  observance,  a  goodly  number  of  friends 
gathered  together,  and  we  had  a  happy  meeting  for  prayer  and  praise.  Full  details 
I  am  unable  to  give  ;  the  only  photograph  which  my  memory  retains  is  that  of  the 
two  little  creatures  being  carried  round  the  large  room, — after  the  dedicatory  prayers 
were  offered, — to  be  admired,  and  kissed,  and  blessed.  What  choice  mercies,  what 
spegial  favours,  their  dear  father  asked  for  them  then,  1  do  not  remember;  but  the 
Lord  has  never  forgotten  that  prayer,  and  the  many  petitions  which  followed  it.  He 
not  only  heard,  but  has  been  answering  all  through  the  years  of  their  lives,  and  with 
the  most  abounding  blessing  since  He  saw  fit  to  make  them  fatherless!  No 
ceremonial  was  observed,  no  drops  of  "holy  water  "  fell  on  the  children's  brows; 
but  in  that  room,  that  evening,  as  truly  as  in  the  house.  "  by  the  farther  side  of 
Jordan,"  in  the  days  gone  by,  our  infants  were  brought  to  Christ  the  Lord  "that  He 
would  touch  them  ;  "  and  it  is  not  now  a  matter  of  iaith,  so  much  as  of  sight,  that 
"  He  took  them  up  in  His  arms,  put  His  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them." 

Ah,  me  !  it  is  not  so  many  years  ago,  since  the  elder  of  those  twin-boys  brought 
his  firstborn  son  to  "  Westwood,"  and  my  beloved,  m  one  of  those  tender  out- 
pourings of  the  heart  which  were  so  natural   to  him,  gave  the  child  to  God  ; and, 

not  many  months  afterwards, — God  answered  the  prayer,  and  took  him  to  Himself ! 
One  of  the  brightest,  bonniest  babies  ever  seen,  he  was  the  delight  and  expectation 
of  our  hearts  ;  but  the  gift  was  claimed  suddenly,  and  the  child,  who  was  to  have 
done,  according  to  our  ideas,  so  much  service  on  earth,  went  to  sing  God  s  praises 
with  the  angels  !  I  wonder,  sometimes,  whether  the  little  ransomed  spirit  met  and 
welcomed  his  warrior  grandfather  on  the  shores  of  the  Glory-land  ! 


CHAPTER    L. 


€\)t  €tmi  Catastroptjt  at  tijt  Suritg  d^aiirtns  JBusic  l^all. 


bURRhY    GARDENS    MLSIC    HALL,  -  EXTKKKIR 


Here  the  reader  must  pardon  the  writer  if  he  introduces  a  personal  narrative,  which  is  to  him  a 
most  memorable  proof  of  the  lovingkindness  of  the  Lord.  Such  an  opportunity  of  recording  my  Lord's 
goodness  may  never  again  occur  to  me  ;  and  therefore  now,  while  my  soul  is  warm  with  gratitude  for  so 
recent  a  deliverance,  let  me  lay  aside  the  language  of  an  author,  and  speak  for  myself,  as  I  should  tell 
the  story  to  my  friends  in  conversation.  It  may  be  egotism  to  weave  one's  own  sorrows  into  the  wirp 
and  woof  of  this  meditation  ;  but  if  tlie  heart  prompts  the  act,  and  the  motions  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  nr,t 
contrary  thereto,  I  think  I  mav  venture  for  this  once  to  raise  an  Ebenezer  in  public,  and  rehearse  the 
praise  of  Jesus  at  the  setting  up  thereof  Egotism  is  not  such  an  evil  thing  as  ungrateful  silence ; 
certaijily,  it  is  not  more  contemptible  than  mock  humility.     Right  or  wrong,  here  followeth  my  story. 

_  On  a  night  which  time  will  never  erase  from  my  memory,  large  numbers  of  my  congregation  were 
scattered,  many  of  them  wounded  and  some  killed,  by  the  malicious  act  of  wicked  men.  Strong  amid 
danger,  1  battled  against  the  storm  ;  nor  did  my  spirit  yield  to  the  overwhelming  pressure  while  my 
courage  could  reassure  the  wavering,  or  confirm  the  bold  ;  but  when,  lil  e  a  whirlwind,  the  destruction 
was  overpast,  when  the  whole  of  its  devastation  was  visible  to  my  eye,  who  can  conceive  the  anguish  ol 
my  sad  spirit  ?        I  refused  to  be  comforted  ;  tears  were  my  meat  by  day,  and  dreams  my  terror  by  night. 


196  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

I  felt  as  I  had  never  felt  before.  "  My  thoughts  were  all  a  case  of  knives,"  cutting  my  heart  in  pieces, 
until  a  kind  of  stupor  of  grief  ministered  a  mournful  medicine  to  me.  I  could  have  truly  said,  "  I  am  not 
mad,  but  surely  I  have  had  enough  to  madden  me,  if  I  should  indulge  in  meditation  on  it."  I  sought 
and  found  a  solitude  which  seemed  congenial  to  me.  I  could  tell  my  griefs  to  the  flowers,  and  the  dews 
could  weep  with  me.  Here  my  mind  lay,  like  a  wreck  upon  the  sand,  incapable  of  its  usual  motion.  I 
was  in  a  strange  land,  and  a  stranger  in  it.  My  Bible,  once  my  daily  food,  was  but  a  hand  to  hft  the 
sluices  of  my  woe.  Prayer  yielded  no  balm  to  me ;  in  fact,  my  soul  was  like  an  infant's  soul,  and  I 
could  not  rise  to  the  dignity  of  supplication.  "  Broken  in  pieces  all  asunder,"  my  thoughts,  which  had 
been  to  me  a  cup  of  delights,  were  like  pieces  of  broken  glass,  the  piercing  and  cutting  miseries  of 
my  pilgrimage.     I  could  adopt  the  words  of  Dr.  Watts,  and  say, — 

"The  tumult  of  my  thoughts 

Doth  but  enlarge  my  woe ; 
My  spirit  languishes,  my  heart 

Is  desolate  and  low. 

"With  every  morning-light 

My  sorrow  new  begins  . 
Look  on  my  anguish  and  my  pain. 
And  pardon  all  my  sins.' 

Then  came  "the  slander  of  many," — barefaced  fabrications,  libellous  insinuations,  and  barbarous 
accusations.  These  alone  might  have  scooped  out  the  last  drop  of  consolation  from  my  cup  of 
happiness ;  but  the  worst  had  come  to  the  worst,  and  the  utmost  malice  ot  the  enemy  could  do  no  more. 
Lower  they  cannot  sink  who  are  already  in  the  nethermost  depths.  Misery  itself  is  the  guardian  of  the 
miserable.  All  things  combined  to  keep  me,  for  a  season,  in  the  darkness  where  neither  sun  nor  moon 
appeared.  I  had  hoped  for  a  gradual  return  to  peaceful  consciousness,  and  patiently  did  I  wait  for  the 
dawning  light.  But  it  came  not  as  I  had  desired ;  for  He  who  doeth  for  us  exceeding  abundanily  above 
all  that  we  ask  or  think,  sent  me  a  happier  answer  to  my  requests.  I  had  striven  to  think  of  the 
unmeasurable  love  of  Jehovah,  as  displayed  in  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary;  I  had  endeavoured  to  muse 
upon  the  glorious  character  of  the  exalted  Jesus  ;  but  I  found  it  impossible  to  collect  my  thoughts  in  the 
quiver  of  meditation,  or,  indeed,  to  place  them  anywhere  but  with  their  points  in  my  wounded  spirit,  or 
else  at  my  feet,  trodden  down  in  an  almost  childish  thoughtlessness. 

On  a  sudden,  like  a  flash  of  lightning  from  the  sky,  my  soul  returned  unto  me.  The  burning  lavi, 
of  my  brain  cooled  in  an  instant.  The  throbbings  of  ray  brow  were  still  ;  the  cool  wind  of  comfort 
fanned  my  cheek,  which  had  been  scorched  in  the  furnace.  I  was  free,  the  iron  fetter  was  broken  in 
pieces,  my  prison  door  was  open,  and  I  leaped  for  joy  of  heart.  On  wings  of  a  dove,  my  spirit  mounted 
to  the  stars, — yea,  beyond  them.  Whither  did  it  wing  its  flight,  and  where  did  it  sing  its  song  of 
gratitude  ?  It  was  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  whose  Name  had  charmed  its  fears,  and  placed  an  end  to  its 
mourning.  The  Name-  the  precious  Name  of  Jesus,  was  like  Ithuriel's  spear,  bringing  back  my  soul  to 
its  own  right  and  happy  state.  I  was  a  man  again,  and  what  is  more,  a  believer.  The  garden  in  which 
I  stood  became  an  Eden  to  me,  and  the  spot  was  then  most  solemnly  consecrated  in  my  restored 
consciousness.  Happy  hour!  Thrice-blessed  Lord,  who  thus  in  an  instant  delivered  me  from  the 
rock  of  my  despair,  and  slew  the  vulture  of  my  grief!  Before  I  told  to  others  the  glad  news  of  my 
recovery,  my  heart  was  melodious  with  song,  and  my  tongue  endeavoured  tardily  to  express  the  music. 
Then  did  I  give  to  my  Well-beloved  a  song  touching  my  Well-beloved;  and,  oh!  with  what  rapture  did 
my  soul  flash  forth  its  praises !  But  all  -  all  were  to  the  honour  of  Him,  the  First  and  the  Last,  the 
Brother  born  for  adversity,  the  Deliverer  of  the  captive,  the  Breaker  of  my  fetters,  the  Restorer  of  my 
soul.  Then  did  I  cast  my  burden  upon  the  Lord ;  I  left  my  ashes,  and  arrayed  myself  in  the  garments 
of  praise,  while  He  anointed  me  with  fresh  oil.  I  could  have  riven  the  very  firmament  to  get  at  Him,  to 
cast  myself  at  His  feet,  and  lie  there  bathed  in  the  tears  of  joy  and  love.  Never  since  the  day  of  my 
conversion  had  I  known  so  much  of  His  infinite  excellence,  never  had  my  spirit  leaped  with  such 
unutterable  delight.  Scorn,  tumult,  and  woe  seemed  less  than  nothing  for  His  sake.  I  girded  up  my 
loins  to  run  before  His  chariot,  I  began  to  shout  forth  His  glory,  for  my  soul  was  absorbed  in  the  one 
idea  of  His  glorious  exaltation  and  Divine  compassion. 

After  a  declaration  of  the  exceeding  grace  of  God  towards  me,  made  to  my  dearest  kindred  and 
friends,  I  essayed  again  to  preach.  The  task  which  I  had  dreaded  to  perform  was  another  means  of. 
comfort,  and  I  can  truly  declare  that  the  words  of  that  morning  were  as  much  the  utterance  of  my 
inner  man  as  if  I  had  been  standing  before  the  bar  of  God.  The  text  selected  was  in  Philippians 
11.  9— II.  (See  The  New  Fark  Street  Pulpit,  No  loi,  "  Tlie  Exaltation  ol  Christ")  May  I  trouble  the 
reader  with  some  of  the  utterances  of  the  morning,  lor  they  were  the  unveilings  of  my  own  experience? 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


197 


"  When  the  mind  is  intensely  set  upon  one  object,  however  much  it  may,  by  divers  calamities,  be 
tossed  to  and  fro,  it  invariably  returns  to  the  place  which  it  had  chosen  to  be  its  dwellingplace.  You 
have  noticed  this  in  the  case  of  David.  When  the  battle  had  been  won  by  his  warriors,  they  returned 
flushed  with  victory.  David's  mind  had  doubtless  suffered  much  perturbation  in  the  meantime  ;  he  had 
dreaded  alike  the  effects  of  victory  and  of  defeat ;  but  have  you  not  noticed  how  his  thoughts,  in  one 
moment,  returned  to  the  darling  object  of  his  affections  ?  '  Is  the  young  man  Absalom  safe  ? '  said  he, 
as  if  it  mattered  not  what  else  had  occurred  if  his  favourite  son  were  but  secure.  So,  beloved,  is  it  with 
the  Christian.  In  the  midst  of  calamities,  whether  they  be  the  wreck  of  nations,  the  crash  of  empires, 
the  heaving  of  revolutions,  or  the  scourge  of  war,  the  great  question  which  he  asks  himself,  and  asks 
of  others,  too,  is  this, — '  Is  Christ's  Kingdom  safe  ?  '  In  his  own  personal  afflictions,  liis  chief  anxiety  is, — 
Will  God  be  glorified,  and  will  His  lionour  be  increased  by  them  ?  '  If  it  be  so,'  says  he,  '  although  I  be 
but  as  smoking  flax,  yet  if  the  sun  is  not  dimmed,  I  will  rejoice ;  and  though  I  be  a  bruised  reed,  if  the 
pillars  of  the  temple  are  unbroken,  what  matters  it  if  I  am  bruised?'  He  finds  it  to  be  sufficient 
consolation,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  breaking  in  pieces  which  he  endures,  to  think  that  Christ's  throne 
stands  fast  and  firm,  and  that,  though  the  earth  hath  reeled  beneath  his  feet,  yet  Christ  standeth  on  a 
rock  which  never  can  be  moved.  Some  of  these  feelings,  I  think,  have  crossed  our  minds.  Amidst 
much  tumult,  and  divers  rushings  to  and  fro  of  troublous  thoughts,  our  souls  have  returned  to  the  dearest 
object  of  our  desires,  and  we  have  found  it  no  small  consolation,  alter  all,  to  say,  '  It  matters  not  what 
sliall  become  of  us  ;  God  hath  highly  exalted  Him.  and  given  Him  a  Name  which  is  above  every  name  ; 
that  at  the  Name  oi /fsm  every  knee  should  bow.'" 

Thus  is  the  thought  of  the  love  of  Jesus,  in  His  delivenng  grace,  most  indelibly  impressed  upon 
my  memory ;  and  the  fact  that  this  experience  is  to  me  the  most  memorable  crisis  of  my  lite,  must  be 
my  apology  for  narrating  it. — C.  H.  S.,  in  "  Tiie  Saint  and  his  Saviour,"  puldis/ieJ  in  1857 


I  ANY  of  my  friends  are  unacquainted  with  the  transactions  of  the 
early  years  of  my  ministry  in  London,  for  a  -whole  generation  has 
passed  away  since  then,  and  the  mass  of  those  who  are  with  me  now 
know  little  of  "  the  brave  days  of  old."  Hence  the  necessity  of 
telling  the  stor)',  that  later  sympathizers  and  fellow-labourers 
may  learn  by  what  a  wonderful  way  the  Lord  has  led  us.  To  return 
to  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  gready  enlarged  as  it  was  during  the  time  of  our 
first  sojourn  at  Exeter  Hall,  resembled  the  attempt  to  put  the  sea  into  a  tea-pot. 
We  were  more  inconvenienced  than  ever.  To  turn  many  hundreds  away  from  the 
doors,  was  the  general  if  not  the  universal  necessity  ;  and  those  who  gained  admission 
were  but  little  better  off,  for  the  packing  was  dense  in  the  extreme,  and  the  heat 
something  terrible  even  to  remember.  My  enemies  continued  to  make  my  name 
more  and  more  widely  known,  by  means  of  pamphlets,  caricatures,*  and  letters  in  the 
papers,  which  all  tended  to  swell  the  crowd.  Matters  reached  a  crisis  in  the  Spring 
of  1856,  and  at  a  church-meeting,  held  on  May  26  in  that  year,  two  resolutions  were 
passed,  the  first  intended  to  meet  the  immediately  pressing  need  of  a  larger  meeting- 
place  for  our  great  congregation,  and  the  second  looking  further  ahead,  and  providing 
for  the  requirements  of  the  future.      The  official  record  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Resolved, — That  arrangements  be  made,  as  early  as  possible,  for  this  church 
to  worship  at  Exeter  Hall  on  the  Sabbath  evenings  during  the  Summer  months. 

*  The  two  caricatures—"  Brimstone  and  Treacle  "  and  "  Catch-'em-alive-O  !  " — have  been  so  often  reproduced  that  they  are 
not  included  in  this  volume  ;  but  others  that  are  less  known  are  given, — "The  Slow  Coach  and  the  Fast  Train  "  (pages  48  and  49), 
"  The  Old  Conductor  and  the  New  Conductor  "  (pages  208  and  2og),  and  "  The  ^i'Dung  Lion  of  the  Day  and  the  Funny  Old  Woman 
of  the  Day  "    (Chapter  LII). 


igS  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

"  Resolved, — That  the  male  members  of  this  church  be  called  together,  as 
speedily  as  possible,  to  consult  as  to  the  best  means  of  providing  better  accommoda- 
tion for  the  vast  crowds  who  are  anxious  to  hear  the  gospel  in  connection  with  the 
ministry  of  our  Pastor." 

Accordingly,  services  were  held  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel  on  the  Sabbath 
mornings  from  June  8  to  August  24,  and  in  the  evenings  at  Exeter  Hall,  but  thi? 
plan  was  very  inconvenient ;  and,  therefore,  in  August,  a  fund  was  commenced  to 
provide  for  the  erection  of  a  larger  house  of  prayer,  the  first  meeting  in  aid  of  that 
object  being  held  at  the  house  of  "  Father  Olney."  Meanwhile,  the  proprietors  of 
Exeter  Hall  intimated  that  they  were  unable  to  let  that  building  continuously  to  one 
congregation.  Although  we  paid  for  the  use  of  it,  it  was  but  natural  that  others 
should  think,  that  the  Baptists  were  monopolizing  a  hall  which  pertained  to  all 
denominations.  I  felt  this  to  be  just,  and  began  to  look  about  for  another  shelter. 
It  was  an  anxious  time,  for  friends  feared  that  it  would  be  long  before  we  could  build 
a  house  of  our  own  ;  but  the  Lord  had  prepared  for  us  a  place  where  we  sojourned 
for  three  years, — the  Music  Hall  of  the  Royal  Surrey  Gardens. 

Very  curious  is  the  story  of  the  Surrey  Gardens.  Everybody  has  heard  of  the 
elephant  and  other  animals  which  were  to  be  seen  at  Exeter  Change,  near  Waterloo 
Bridge.  Mr.  Cross,  the  proprietor  of  that  exhibition,  removed  his  menagerie,  in 
1 83 1,  to  the  Surrey  Gardens.  There  were  fountains,  and  caves,  and  summer- 
houses,  a  lake  of  three  and  a  half  acres,  pleasant  walks  and  lawns,  and  all  the 
usual  paraphernalia  of  public  gardens.  In  Dr.  Montgomery's  History  of  Kcn- 
nington,  we  read  : — "  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  fact,  for  temperance  folk,  is 
that  the  proprietors  of  the  Gardens  never  made  application  for  a  license  to  sell  drink. 
It  was  started  and  made  a  success  without  the  sale  of  intoxicants.  This  is  a  note- 
worthy fact.  1  do  not  know  what  happened  in  later  years  ;  but  during  the  time  of 
Mr.  Cross,  up  to  1844,  no  license  was  ever  applied  for.  The  hours  kept  were  early. 
At  the  latest,  in  the  middle  of  Summer,  the  Gardens  closed  at  10  p.m.,  and  in  the 
Autumn  at  7  p.m.  Our  Queen,  when  she  was  quite  a  little  girl,  came  here  with 
the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  was  shown  over  the  Gardens  by  Mr.  Warwick." 

When  I  first  came  to  London,  the  Zoological  Gardens  were  a  very  respectable 
and  quiet  resort  ;  but  few  persons  availed  themselves  of  them.  The  age  which 
could  be  content  with  quiet  amusements,  free  from  loose  associations,  was  passing 
away,  and  giving  place  to  a  generation  which  looked  for  more  flavour  in  its 
recreation.  The  Gardens  were  kept  up  in  part  by  subscription  from  families  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  pardy  by  displays  of  fireworks.  The  affair  did  not  pay  in  that 
form,  so  a  company  was  formed  to  continue  the  zoological  collection,  and  add 
thereto  the  far  greater  attraction  of  the  popular  concerts  of  M.  Jullien.  A  very  fine 
hall    was   erected,   which   had   three   o;alleries,   and  would  accommodate  from  six  to 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTUBIOGRAl'HV.  I99 

ten  thousand  people.  I  cannot  speak  exactly  as  to  numbers,  nor  correct  my  estimate 
by  personal  inspection,  for  no  vestige  of  the  hall  is  now  remaining.  I  recollect  going 
with  Mr.  William  Olney  to  see  the  place  ;  and  though  we  felt  it  to  be  a  venturesome 
e.xperiment  to  attempt  to  preach  in  so  large  a  building,  we  had  faith  in  God,  and 
dared  to  hope  that  He  would  bless  an  earnest  attempt  to  proclaim  the  gospel  to  the 
multitude.  One  or  two  of  our  good  members  thought  it  wrong  to  go  to  what  they 
persisted  in  calling  "the  devil's  house."  I  did  not  agree  with  their  hard  names,  but 
encouraged  them  to  stop  away,  and  not  to  violate  their  consciences.  At  the  same 
time,  I  bade  them  not  to  discourage  either  their  brethren  or  me,  for  we  were  willing 
to  go  even  into  "the  devil's  house"  to  win  souls  for  Christ.  We  did  not  go  to  the 
Music  Hall  because  we  thought  that  it  was  a  good  thing  to  worship  in  a  building 
usually  devoted  to  amusement,  but  because  we  had  no  other  place  to  go  to. 

On  October  6,  a  special  church-meeting  was  held,  for  the  purpose  which  is  thus 
recorded  in  our  Minutes  : — "  This  meeting  was  convened  to  consider  the  propriety  of 
engaging  the  use  of  the  large  hall  in  the  Royal  Surrey  Gardens  for  our  Sabbath 
evening  worship,  the  directors  of  Exeter  Hall  having  refused  the  church  the  further 
use  of  that  place.  After  several  of  the  brethren  had  expressed  their  concurrence, 
it  was  resolved  that  the  Music  Hall  of  the  Royal  Surrey  Gardens  be  engaged  for 
one  month,  commencing  the  third  Sabbath  in  October." 

When  the  appointed  day  arrived,  our  anticipations  ran  high,  but  none  of  us 
dreamed  of  that  which  lay  before  us.  Much  prayer  was  offered,  and  I  looked 
forward  hopefully,  but  yet  felt  overweighted  with  a  sense  of  responsibility,  and  filled 
with  a  mysterious  premonition  of  some  great  trial  shortly  to  befall  me.  In  the 
Preface  to  Vol.  H.  of  T/ie  Pulpit  Library,  I  wrote: — "The  first  sermon  in  this 
volume — '  Prove  Me  now,'  Malachi  iii.  10, — was  preached  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel 
in  the  morning  of  that  Lord's-day  on  which  the  fatal  accident  occurred  at  the  Surrey 
Gardens  Music  Hall.  By  many  readers  it  will  now  be  perused  with  curiosity,  but 
the  preacher  himself  reviews  each  sentence  with  thrilling  emotion.  Its  subject  was 
entirely  suggested  by  the  enlarged  sphere  of  labour  he  was  about  to  occupy,  and  the 
then  unprecedented  number  of  souls  he  was  expecting  ere  nightfall  to  address.  If 
any  passage  seems  to  forestall  the  calamity,  he  can  only  say  it  is  genuine, — a 
transcript  from  the  reporter's  notes.  The  Christian  reader  can  understand  many  sore 
conflicts  between  the  heart's  feelings  and  its  faith  ;  yet  no  one  can  know,  as  the 
author's  own  soul,  how,  amidst  fightings  without  and  fears  within,  he  was  enabled  to 
proclaim  the  strongest  confidence  in  God.  He  has  made  that  proof,  which  he 
counselled  others  to  make,  of  the  Divine  faithfulness  ;  and  as  to  the  result  (notwith- 
standing a  parenthesis  of  grievous  tribulation),  he  dares  to  speak  with  abundant 
oratitude." 


200  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

The  sermon  itself  contained  the  following  almost  prophetic  passage  : — "  Perhaps 
I  may  be  called  to  stand  where  the  thunder-clouds  brew,  where  the  lightnings  play, 
and  tempestuous  winds  are  howling  on  the  mountain-top.  Well,  then,  I  am  born  to 
prove  the  power  and  majesty  of  our  God  ;  amidst  dangers.  He  will  inspire  me  with 
courage;  amidst  toils,  He  will  make  me  strong.  .  .  .  This  old  Bible  speaks  to  me 
to-day.  This  sword  of  the  Spirit  hath  been  thrust  into  many  of  your  hearts  ;  and 
though  they  were  hard  as  adamant,  it  has  split  them  in  sunder.  I  have  wielded  it  in 
your  midst  as  God's  soldier  ;  and  some  of  you  have  had  sturdy  spirits  broken  in 
pieces  by  this  good  old  Jerusalem  blade.  But  we  shall  be  gathered  together, 
to-night,  where  an  unprecedented  mass  of  people  will  assemble,  perhaps  from  idle 
curiosity,  to  hear  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  His  voice  cries  in  my  ears,  '  Prove  Me  now.' 
Many  a  man  has  come,  during  my  ministrations,  armed  to  his  very  teeth,  and  having 
on  a  coat  of  mail,  yet  hath  this  tried  weapon  cleft  him  in  twain,  and  pierced  to  the 
dividing  asunder  of  the  joints  and  marrow.  '  Prove  Me  now,'  says  God,  '  go  and 
prove  Me  before  blasphemers  ;  go  and  prove  Me  before  reprobates,  before  the  vilest 
of  the  vile,  and  the  filthiest  of  the  filthy;  go  and  "prove  Me  now."  Lift  up  that 
life-giving  cross,  and  let  it  again  be  exhibited  ;  into  the  regions  of  death,  go  and 
proclaim  the  Word  of  life ;  into  the  most  plague-smitten  parts  of  the  city,  go  and 
carry  the  waving  censer  of  the  incense  of  a  Saviour's  merits,  and  prove  now  whether 
He  is  not  able  to  stay  the  plague,  and  remove  the  disease.' 

"  But  what  does  God  say  to  the  church  ?  '  You  have  proved  Me  aforetime,  you 
have  attempted  great  things  ;  though  some  of  you  were  faint-hearted,  and  said,  "  We 
should  not  have  ventured,"  others  of  you  had  faith,  and  proved  Me.  I  say  again, 
"  Prove  Me  now."  '  See  what  God  can  do,  just  when  a  cloud  is  falling  on  the  head 
of  him  zvhoin  God  has  raised  up  to  preach  to  you,  go  and  prove  Him  now  ;  and  see  if 
He  will  not  pour  you  out  such  a  blessing  as  ye  had  not  even  dreamed  of,  see  if  He 
will  not  give  you  a  Pentecostal  blessing.  '  Prove  Me  now.'  Why  should  we  be 
unbelieving.''  Have  we  one  thing  to  make  us  so?  We  are  weak;  what  of  that.'' 
Are  we  not  strongest  in  our  God  when  we  are  weakest  in  ourselves  }  We  are  fools, 
it  is  said,  and  so  we  are,  we  know  it  ;  but  He  maketh  fools  to  confound  the  wise.  We 
are  base,  but  God  hath  chosen  the  base  things  of  the  world.      We  are  unlearned, — 

"  '  We  know  no  schoolman's  subtle  arts,' 

yet  we  glory  in  infirmity  when  Christ's  power  doth  rest  upon  us.  Let  them  represent 
us  as  worse  than  we  are  ;  let  them  give  us  the  most  odious  character  that  hath  ever 
been  given  to  man,  we  will  bless  them,  and  wish  them  well.  What  though  the 
weapon  be  a  stone,  or  even  the  jawbone  of  an  ass,  if  the  Lord  direct  it  ?  '  Do  you 
not  know,'  say  some,  'what  wise  men  say?'  Yes,  we  do;  but  we  can  read  their 
oracles  backwards.      Their  words  are  the  offspring  of  their  wishes.      We  know  ivho 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  20I 

has  instructed  them,  and  we  know  he  was  a  Har  from  the  beginning.  O  fools,  and 
slow  of  heart  !  do  ye  shrink  from  the  truth,  or  do  ye  shrink  from  obloquy  and 
disgrace  ?  In  either  case,  ye  have  not  the  love  to  your  Master  that  ye  should  have. 
If  ye  be  brave  men  and  true,  go  on  and  conquer.  Fearnot,  ye  shall  yet  win  the  day  ; 
God's  holy  gospel  shall  yet  shake  the  earth  once  more.  The  banner  is  lifted  up,  and 
multitudes  are  flocking  to  it  ;  the  Pharisees  have  taken  counsel  together, — the 
learned  stand  confounded, — the  sages  are  baffled,  they  know  not  what  to  do.  The 
little  one,  God  has  made  great  ;  and  He  that  was  despised,  is  exalted.  Let  us  trust 
Him,  then.  He  will  be  with  us  even  to  the  end,  for  He  has  said,  '  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.'  " 

I  can  never  forget  that  terrible  night.  Having  preserved  all  the  pamphlets  and 
papers  connected  with  "  the  great  catastrophe,"  I  have  just  now  perused  them  in  order 
to  write  this  memorial.  I  have  thereby  revived  within  myself  much  that  is  paintul  ; 
but  much  more  that  causes  me  to  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord.  When  I  was 
nearing  the  house  in  Manor  "Street,  which  was  the  office  of  the  company,  and  was  to 
serve  me  as  a  private  entrance,  I  was  exceedingly  surprised  to  find  the  streets 
thronged  for  a  long  distance.  With  difficulty  I  reached  the  door.  There  was  a  long 
private  road  from  the  entrance  of  the  Gardens  to  the  Music  Hall  itself,  and  this 
appeared  to  be  filled  up  with  a  solid  block  of  people,  who  were  unable  to  get  into  the 
building.  I  felt  overawed,  and  was  taken  with  that  faintness  which  was,  in  my  youth, 
the  usual  forerunner  of  every  sermon.  Still,  I  rallied,  and  was  duly  escorted  to  my 
pulpit  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  throng.  Here  I  was  to  pass  through  the  greatest 
ordeal  of  my  life. 

But  I  will  now  give  way  to  Dr.  Campbell,  then  the  Editor  of  The  British 
Banner;  for  his  is  the  description  of  an  eye-witness,  and  of  an  impartial,  self- 
possessed  critic.  He  wrote  : — "  Ecclesiastically  viewed,  Sunday  last  (October  19th) 
was  one  of  the  most  eventful  nights  that  have  descended  upon  our  metropolis  for 
generations.  On  that  occasion,  the  largest,  most  commodious,  and  most  beautiful 
building  erected  for  public  amusement  in  this  mighty  city  was  taken  possession  of  for 
the  purpose  of  proclaiming  the  gospel  of  salvation.  There,  where,  for  a  long  period, 
wild  beasts  had  been  exhibited,  and  wilder  men  had  been  accustomed  to  congregate, 
in  countless  multitudes,  for  idle  pastime,  was  gathered  together  the  largest  audience 
that  ever  met  in  any  edifice  in  these  isles,  to  listen  to  the  voice' of  a  Nonconformist 
minister.  The  spectacle,  of  its  kind,  was  one  of  the  most  imposing,  magnificent,  and 
awful  ever  presented  to  the  human  eye.  No  adequate  idea  of  it  can  be  conveyed  by 
description  ;  to  be  understood,  it  must  have  been  seen  ;  and  they  who  beheld  it 
received  an  impression  which  no  time  will  ever  obliterate.  The  sight  of  10,000  or 
12,000  people,  more  or  fewer,  assembled  to  listen  to  the  Word  of  the  living  God,  in 


202  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGI^lArHY. 

such  a  place,  at  such  a  time,  and  addressed  by  a  man  with  a  voice  of  such  power  and 
compass  that  the  remotest  might  hear  with  ease  and  pleasure,  was  sufficient  to 
excite  intense  joy  in  the  hearts  of  all  good  men  who  witnessed  it  ;  nor  is  it 
extravagant  to  say,  that  it  was  enough  to  wake  the  attention  of  the  angelic  world  ! 

"  But,  in  proportion  to  the  joy  and  the  hope  thus  inspired,  were  the  sorrow  and 
disappointment  arising  from  the  terrible  catastrophe  by  which  the  very  first  service 
was  attended  and  cut  short !  At  the  most  solemn  moment  of  the  occasion,  the 
wicked  rose  in  their  strength,  like  a  whirlwind,  sin  entered,  followed  by  terror,  flight, 
disorder,  and  death  !  The  entire  city  has  been  filled  with  astonishment  !  From  the 
cellar  to  the  palace,  the  events  of  that  dreadful  night  have  been  the  theme  of  eager 
discourse.  In  the  squares,  the  streets,  the  lanes,  and  alleys,  as  well  as  in  the 
workshops  and  counting-houses,  and  all  the  chief  places  of  concourse,  it  has  been, 
through  each  successive  day,  the  one  great  object  of  thought  and  converse. 

"  Imagination,  as  usual,  has  been  active  in  the  work  of  exaggeration,  and  malice 
in  that  of  mendacity.  At  one  time,  the  beautiful  building  has  been  wrapped  in 
flames,  and  reduced  to  ashes  !  At  another,  the  roof  has  fallen  in,  and  entombed 
10,000  people  !  The  human  mind,  voracious  of  the  tragical  and  the  marvellous,  has 
greedily  devoured  even  the  most  preposterous  accounts.  The  more  horrible,  the 
more  credible  and  the  more  welcome  ;  and  the  public  press,  as  is  its  wont,  has 
not  been  backward  to  pander  to  the  morbid  appetite  of  the  excited  millions.  It  has 
lied  as  well  as  exaggerated,  most  fearfully  !  Fancy  pictures  have  been  drawn,  suited 
to  'the  chamber  of  horrors.'  Having  ourselves  not  only  witnessed  the  spectacle, 
but  been  in  the  very  vortex,  we  are  able  to  speak  from  observation  touching  the 
various  points  which  the  public  are  mainly  concerned  to  know,  and  every  way  able 
to  distinguish  between  truth  and  error.  We,  therefore,  feel  in  duty  bound  to  clear 
away  the  bewildering  mist  and  darkness  which  have  gathered  around  the  character 
and  conduct  of  honourable  men.  We  were  among  the  very  first  to  enter  the  building, 
where  we  took  up  a  position  before  the  pulpit,  which  had  been  erected  in  front  of 
the  orchestra,  so  that  we  had  a  perfect  command  of  the  entire  house,  hearing  and 
seeing  everything  of  importance  to  be  either  heard  or  seen.  The  simple  statement 
of  facts  as  they  occurred  will  form  the  best  antidote  to  the  flood  of  misrepresentation 
and  falsehood  which  has  welled  forth  from  a  portion  of  the  metropolitan  press. 

"  The  house,  considering  its  magnitude,  might  be  said  to  be  very  speedily  filled, 
leaving,  it  is  supposed,  an  equal  number  outside  unable  to  gain  admission.  The 
process  of  packing  the  hall,  as  may  be  presumed,  was  gone  about  in  a  somewhat 
tumultuous  manner.  The  people  were  deeply  excited  by  the  violent  struggle  which 
had  to  be  encountered  and  overcome  at  the  doors  to  obtain  an  entrance,  which 
naturally  led,  after  admission,  to  rapid  movements  in  every  direction  where  there 
seemed  a  probability  of  gaining  a  seat,  or,  at  least,  standing-room.      The  aspect  of 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY 


the  hall  during  this  period  was,  of  course,  anything-  but  like  that  which  obtains  in 
places  of  regular  worship,  and  somewhat  fitted  to  do  violence  to  the  sober  spirit  of 
orderly  people  ;  but,  certainly,  it  would  have  borne  a  very  favourable  comparison 
with  the  gatherings  of  the  huge  religious  anniversary  meetings  at  Exeter  Hall,  or 
any  other  vast  place  of  general  concourse.  It  was,  '  Every  man  for  himself;'  and, 
as  compared  with  the  monster  meetings  of  Whitefield  on  Kennington  Common  or 
Moorfields,  in  the  High  Churchyard,  Glasgow,  and  the  Orphan  House  Park, 
Edinburgh,  so  far  as  history  has  testified,  there  was  nothing  to  complain  of  on  the 
score  of  tumultuous  levity. 

"The  hall  having  been  filled  in  every  part,  things  began  to  assume  a  perfectly 
settled  aspect.  The  commotion  ceased,  and  the  air  of  the  assembly  was  every 
whit  as  tranquil  as  that  of  our  great  philanthropic  or  even  worshipping  assem- 
blies. The  hall  being  thus  gorged,  Mr.  Spurgeon  considerately  and  wisely 
commenced  the  service  about  ten  minutes  before  the  appointed  time,  surrounded  by 
a  large  number  of  most  respectable  people,  composed  of  his  officers  and  flock,  who 
led  the  psalmody.  After  a  few  words  of  a  highly  pertinent  character,  he  briefly 
offered  prayer,  and  then  gave  out  a  thoroughly  Evangelical  hymn,  with  a  force,  a 
feeling,  and  an  unction  seldom  witnessed  in  a  worshipping  assembly,  and  which 
threw  an  air  of  deep  solemnity  over  the  immense  multitude  by  whom  it  was  sung  as 
with  the  voice  of  many  waters.  That  hymn  itself  was  an  important  proclamation  of 
the  gospel.  The  reading  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  immediately  followed,  with  a 
running  comment,  as  is  the  preacher's  custom.  The  Scripture  was  well  chosen,  and 
the  exposition  admirably  appropriate,  and  such  as  was  well  fitted  to  impress  even  the 
most  frivolous.  There  was  no  dry  disquisition,  no  curious  criticism  ;  but  an  address 
directed  to  the  hearts  of  the  hearers,  showing,  from  the  first,  that  the  speaker  came 
strongly  intent  upon  most  important  business,  and  that  nothing  was  to  be  regarded 
short  of  its  accomplishment. 

"  The  general  prayer  next  followed  ;  and  here,  too,  the  same  pertinent  and 
peculiar  air  was  manifested.  The  one  great  motive  which  animated  the  preacher 
was,  most  obviously,  the  salvation  of  men.  .  .  .  This  was  the  moment  chosen  by  the 
emissaries  of  darkness  to  spring  the  mine  of  mischief  which,  in  effect,  resulted  in 
manifold  murder  !  To  have  made  the  attempt  while  the  high  praises  of  God  were  being 
sung,  would  have  been  certain  failure.  To  have  done  so  while  a  stream  of  eloquence 
was  rolling  on  in  the  sermon,  and  all  eyes  open,  would  have  been  attended  with  no 
better  success.  Yes  ;  and  the  inhuman  miscreants — cunning  as  they  were  impious 
and  cruel, — knew  it.  They  were  obviously  adepts  in  iniquity.  They  understood 
their  business  thoroughly.  Their  plans  were  skilfully  formed,  and  executed  with  the 
precision  of  military  science  opening  a  masked  battery.  Just  as  the  minds  of  the 
devout    portion    of   the   assembly   were   collected   around    the   throne  of  the    Great 


204  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

Eternal,  far  away  from  earth  and  its  grovellings,  abstracted,  absorbed,  prostrate, 
suppliant,  and  adoring,  the  fiendish  conspiracy  broke  forth  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning  and  the  fury  of  a  tempest  !  The  efiect  was  such  as  was  anticipated  and 
desired.  To  say  it  began  with  one  or  two  cries  of  '  Fire  ! '  as  we  view  the  matter,  is 
wholly  to  misrepresent  it.  For  our  own  part,  we  heard  no  such  cries.  Such, 
however,  there  doubtless  were  ;  but  they  were  only  signals.  The  thing  bore  the 
impress  of  a  plan  to  which  sorne  hundreds  of  persons  at  least  appeared  to  be  parties. 
The  mere  cry  of  '  Fire  !  '  would  have  produced  more  or  less  of  a  general  commotion 
extending  to  all  parts  of  the  house,  which  was  but  slightly  moved  ;  whereas,  the 
indescribable  and  terrible  outbreak  was  limited  to  a  large  portion  of  people  in  a 
given  locality  surrounding  the  great  entrance.  The  outbreak  could  be  likened  to 
nothing  but  the  sudden  bursting  forth  of  an  immense  body  of  trained  singers,  or  a 
vast  reservoir  of  water,  whose  sluices  were  opened,  or  whose  banks  had  given  way. 
It  is  impossible  that  any  cries  of  two  or  three  individuals  could  ever  have  produced 
so  sudden,  so  simultaneous,  and  so  sustained  a  display  of  fear,  horror,  and  consterna- 
tion. We  are  strongly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  thing,  from  the 
adroitness  of  the  performance,  must  have  been  well  practised  beforehand.  So  far  as 
we  could  judge  irom  appearances,  the  parties,  or  a  portion  of  them,  who  led  in  the 
terrific  uproar,  also  led  m  the  rush,  which  appeared  as  an  especial  part  of  their  infernal 
arrangement.  Mr.  Spurgeon,  who  mstantiy  recovered  from  the  horrible  surprise 
with  which  he  was  overwhelmed,  in  the  very  act  of  prayer,  of  course  saw  in  a  moment 
that  the  alarm  was  false.  There  was  no  appearance  whatever  of  fire  ;  and  the  noble 
structure  in  no  place  gave  any  symptoms  of  fracture  or  rupture.  His  quick  eye 
perceived  in  an  instant  the  true  origin  of  the  movement,  and  he  acted  accordingly, 
adopting  every  method  that  seemed  calculated  to  calm  the  tumult,  and  to  reassure 
the  assembly." 

It  may  put  the  matter  still  more  vividly  before  the  reader,  if  I  quote  from  a 
statement  appended  to  a  sermon,  preached  soon  after  the  catastrophe,  by  the 
venerable  Dr.  Alexander  Fletcher  : — "  As  early  as  five  o  clock,  thousands  of  persons 
were  filling  up  the  approaches  to  the  Surrey  Gardens.  By  five  minutes  after  six,  the 
hall  was  filled  to  overflow;  it  is  supposed  that  not  fewer  than  12,000  persons  were 
present,  and  many  thousands  were  on  the  outside,  and  still  as  many  more  were 
unable  to  gain  admittance  even  to  the  Gardens.  While  the  service  was  being  con- 
ducted in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  usual  way,  during  the  second  prayer,  all  of  a  sudden  there 
were  cries  simultaneously,  doubtless  preconcerted,  from  all  parts  of  the  building,  of 
'  Fire  !  '  'The  galleries  are  giving  way  !  '  '  The  place  is  falling  !  '  the  effect  of  which 
on  the  audience  it  is  impossible  to  describe.  Many  hundreds  of  persons  rushed 
towards  the  place  of  exit,  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives,  and  sacrificing  those  of  their 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  •  205 

fellow-creatures.  In  vain  did  Mr.  Spurgeon,  with  his  stentorian  voice  and  self- 
possession,  assul-e  the  alarmed  multitude  that  it  was  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  thieves  and 
pickpockets  ;  the  people  in  the  galleries  rushed  down,  precipitating  themselves 
almost  headlong  over,  or  breaking  down  the  balustrade  of  the  stairs,  killing  some 
and  fearfully  wounding  others.  Those  who  fell  through  force,  or  fainting,  were 
trampled  under  foot,  and  several  lives  were  lost  in  the  melee.  To  make  '  confusion 
worse  confounded,'  it  is  also  said  that,  as  fast  as  one  portion  of  the  multitude  made 
their  exit,  others  from  without  entered.  Mr.  Spurgeon,  who  was  ignorant  of  any  of 
these  fatal  consequences,  after  a  temporary  lull,  was  persuaded  to  make  an  effort  to 
preach  ;  but,  after  one  or  two  attempts,  he  found  it  impossible  to  proceed,  owing  to  the 
noises  which  the  swell-mobsmen  continued  to  make.  Wishing  to  get  the  people 
gradually  out  of  the  hall,  he  gave  out  a  hymn,  requesting  the  congregation  to  with- 
draw while  it  was  being  sung.  He  then  pronounced  the  Benediction,  and,  at  length, 
overcome  by  emotion,  which  he  had  long  striven  to  repress,  he  was  led  from  the 
platform  in  a  state  of  apparent  insensibility.  The  results  of  this  dreadful  panic  are 
most  calamitous  and  distressing.  Seven  lives  have  been  sacrificed,  and  serious 
bodily  injury  inflicted  upon  a  great  number  of  persons." 

(Mr.  Spurgeon  felt  that  it  was  impossible,  under  the  circumstances,  to  say  what 
he  had  prepared,  but,  notwithstanding  the  tumult,  the  people  clamoured  for  him  to 
go  on  preaching,  so  he  spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  My  friends,  you  bid  me  preach,  but  what  shall  I  preach  about  ?  I  am  ready 
to  do  all  I  can  ;  but,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  confusion,  what  shall  be  my  subject  ? 
May  God's  Holy  Spirit  give  me  a  theme  suited  to  this  solemn  occasion  !  My 
friends,  there  is  a  terrible  day  coming,  v/hen  the  terror  and  alarm  of  this  evening 
shall  be  as  nothing.  That  will  be  a  time  when  the  thunder  and  lightning  and 
blackest  darkness  shall  have  their  fullest  power,  when  the  earth  shall  reel  to  and  fro 
beneath  us,  and  when  the  arches  of  the  solid  heavens  shall  totter  to  their  centre. 
The  day  is  coming  when  the  clouds  shall  reveal  their  wonders  and  portents,  and 
Christ  shall  sit  upon  those  clouds  in  glory,  and  shall  call  you  to  judgment.  Many 
have  gone  away  to-night,  in  the  midst  of  this  terrible  confusion,  and  so  shall  it  be 
on  that  great  day.  I  can,  however,  believe  that  the  results  of  that  time  of  testing  will 
show  that  there  will  be  many — not  a  less  proportion  than  those  who  now  remain  to 
those  who  have  left — who  will  stand  the  ordeal  even  of  that  day.  The  alarm  which 
has  just  arisen  has  been  produced,  in  some  measure,  by  that  instinct  which  teaches 
us  to  seek  self-preservation  ;  but  in  the  more  numerous  of  the  cases,  it  is  not  so 
much  the  dread  of  death  which  has  influenced  them,  as  '  the  dread  of  something- 
after  death, — the  undiscovered  country,  from  whose  bourn  no  traveller  returns.' 
'Tis  conscience  that  has  made  cowards  of  them.       Many  were  afraid  to  stop  here, 


2o6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

because  they  thought,  if  they  stayed,  they  might  die,  and  then  they  would  be 
damned.  They  were  aware — and  many  of  you  are  aware — that,  if  you  were  hurried 
before  your  Maker  to-night,  you  would  be  brought  there  unshriven,  unpardoned,  and 
condemned.  But  what  are  your  fears  now  to  what  they  will  be  on  that  terrible 
day  of  reckoning  of  the  Almighty,  when  the  heavens  shall  shrink  above  you,  and 
hell  shall  open  her  mouth  beneath  you  ?  But  know  you  not,  my  friends,  that  grace, 
sovereign  grace,  can  yet  save  you  .-^  Have  you  never  heard  the  welcome  news  that 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners  ?  Ev^en  if  you  are  the  chief  of  sinners, 
believe  that  Christ  died  for  you,  and  you  shall  be  saved.  Do  you  not  know  that  you 
are  lost  and  ruined,  and  that  none  but  Jesus  can  do  helpless  sinners  good  ?  You  are 
sick  and  diseased,  but  Jesus  can  heal  you  ;  and  He  will  if  you  only  trust  Him.  1 
thought  of  preaching  to-night  from  the  third  chapter  of  Proverbs,  at  the  33rd  verse  : 
'  The  curse  of  the  Lord  is  in  the  house  of  the  wicked :  but  He  blesseth  the 
habitation  of  the  just.'  I  feel  that,  after  what  has  happened,  I  cannot  preach  as  1 
could  hav-e  wished  to  do  ;  I  fear  that  you  will  have  another  alarm,  and  1  would 
rather  that  sonie  of  you  would  seek  to  retire  gradually,  in  order  that  no  harm  may 
be  done  to  anyone.' 

Here  there  was  a  fresh  disturbance  ;  but  after  singing  part  of  a  hymn,  com- 
parative silence  was  obtained,  and  the  preacher  again  attempted  to  begin  his  dis- 
course : — "  Although,  my  hearers,  you  may  suppose  that  there  are  fifty  different  classes 
of  persons  in  the  world,  there  are,  in  the  eyes  of  God,  but  two.  God  knows  nothing 
of  any  save  the  righteous  and  the  unrighteous,  the  wicked  and  the  just." 

In  the  confusion  that  again  ensued  it  was  useless  to  try  to  preach,  so  Mr. 
Spurgeon  said  : — "  My  bram  is  in  a  whirl,  and  I  scarcely  know  where  I  am,  so  great 
are  my  apprehensions  that  many  persons  must  have  been  injured  by  rushing  out. 
I  would  rather  that  you  retired  gradually,  and  may  God  Almighty  dismiss  you  with 
His  blessing,  and  carry  you  in  safety  to  your  homes  !  If  our  friends  will  go  out  by 
the  central  doors,  we  will  sing  while  they  go.  and  pray  that  some  good  may,  after 
all,  come  out  of  this  great  evil.  Do  not,  however,  be  in  a  hurry.  Let  those 
nearest  the  door  go  first.") 

All  that  I  can  remember  of  that  awful  night  is  the  sight  of  a  tumult,  which  I 
was  then  quite  unable  to  understand.  Even  now  it  remains  a  mystery  to  me.  I 
hope  there  was  no  concerted  wickedness  at  the  bottom  of  the  sad  event  ;  though 
there  may  have  been  a  love  of  mischief  aiding  at  the  first.  We  were  all  fresh  to  the 
place,  and  all  more  or  less  excited.  I  did  my  utmost  to  be  calm,  and  to  quiet  the 
people,  and  I  succeeded  with  the  great  mass  of  them  ;  but  away  at  the  end  of  the 
building  there  was  a  something  going  on  which  I  did  not  understand,  while  around 
the  seated  part  of  the  hall  there  were  rushes  made  by  excited  people  again  and 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  207 

again,  for  reasons  quite  incomprehensible  to  me.  One  can  understand,  now,  that 
those  who  had  seen  the  accident  on  the  staircase  may  have  been  trying  to  call 
attention  to  it,  thinking  it  a  strange  thing  that  the  service  should  have  been  continued 
after  persons  had  been  killed.  Of  this  dread  calamity  I  was  unaware  till,  as  I  was 
led  down  faint  from  the  pulpit,  I  heard  a  whisper  of  it.  I  know  no  more,  for  I 
lost  almost  all  consciousness,  and,  amid  the  weeping  and  cries  of  many,  I  was 
carried  by  a  private  garden  into  the  street,  and  taken  home  more  dead  than  alive. 
There  were  seven  corpses  lying  on  the  grass,  and  many  have  since  told  me  how 
grievous  was  the  sight.  This  I  never  saw  ;  but  what  I  had  seen  might  have  been 
sufficient  to  shatter  my  reason.  It  might  well  seem  that  the  ministry  which  promised 
to  be  so  largely  influential  was  silenced  for  ever.  There  were  persons  who  said  so 
exultingly  ;  but  they  knew  not  what  they  said.  I  was  taken  away  to  the  house  of  a 
friend,  early  the  following  morning,  and  as  1  was  assisted  out  of  the  carriage  at 
Croydon,  a  working-man  caught  sight  of  me,  and,  in  a  frightened  fashion,  stammered 
out,  "Why,  sir! — it's  Mr.  Spurgeon,  isn't  it?"  I  answered,  "Yes."  "Then,"  he 
rejoined,  "it  must  be  his  ghost;  for,  last  night,  I  saw  him  carried  out  dead  from 
the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall  !  "  I  was  not  dead,  thank  God  ;  but  the  bystanders 
might  well  have  imagined  that  the  terrible  shock  had  killed  me. 

Of  course  there  was  an  inquest  ; — verdict,  accidental  death  ; — on  the  whole,  the 
only  safe  conclusion  to  arrive  at.  A  fund  was  raised  for  the  sufferers,  and  all  was 
done  that  lay  in  the  power  of  our  people  to  help  the  injured.  Our  friends  were 
crushed  in  spirit,  but  not  driven  from  their  faith  or  love,  nor  divided  from  their 
youthful  minister.  I  was,  for  a  short  time,  incapable  of  any  mental  effort.  Who 
would  not  be  ?  How  great  a  trial  to  have  a  number  of  one's  hearers  killed  or 
maimed!  A  word  about  the  calamity,  and  even  the  sight  of  the  Bible,  brought 
from  me  a  flood  of  tears,  and  utter  distraction  of  mind. 

During  that  time,  I  was  not  aware  of  the  ferocious  assaults  which  were  made 
upon  me  by  the  public  press  ;  indeed,  I  heard  no  word  of  them  until  I  was  sufficiently 
recovered  to  bear  them  without  injury.  As  we  read  of  David,  that  they  spake  of 
stoning  him,  so  was  it  with  me.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  what  was  said  by  a 
popular  daily  paper,  which  I  will  not  name,  for  it  has  long  been  of  quite  another 
mind,  and  most  friendly  to  me  : — 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  a  preacher  who  hurls  damnation  at  the  heads  of  his  sinful 
hearers.  Some  men  there  are  who,  taking  their  precepts  from  Holy  Writ,  would 
beckon  erring  souls  to  a  rightful  path  with  fair  words  and  gentle  admonition  ;  Mr. 
Spurgeon  would  take  them  by  the  nose,  and  bully  them  into  religion.  Let  us  set  up 
a  barrier  to  the  encroachments  and  blasphemies  of  men  like  Spurgeon,  saying  to 
them,  '  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further  ;'  let  us  devise  some  powerful  means 
which  shall  tell   to   the  thousands  who  now   stand  in  need  of  enlightenment, — This 


208 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S    AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


man,  in  his  own  opinion,  is  a  righteous  Christian  ;  but  in  ours,  nothing  more  than  a 
ranting  charlatan.  We  are  neither  strait-laced  nor  Sabbatarian  in  our  sentiments  ; 
but  we  would  keep  apart,  widely  apart,  the  theatre  and  the  church  ; — above  all, 
-would  we  place  in  the  hand  of  every  right-thinking  man,  a  whip  to  scourge  from 
society  the  authors  of  such  vile  blasphemies  as,  on   Sunday  night,  above  the  cries  of 


^n 


THE   OLD   CONDUCTOR. 


the  dead  and  the  dying,  and  louder  than  the  wails  of  misery  from  the  maimed  and 
suffering,  resounded  from  the  mouth  of  Spurgeon  in  the  Music  Hall  of  the  Surrey 
Gardens." 

Many  other  utterances  were  equally  cruel  and  libellous.  A  gentleman  applied 
to  the  magistrate  at  Lambeth,  seeking  an  investigation  by  his  worship  into  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  catastrophe,  and  into  the  necessity  for  a  license  to 
use  the  Music  Hall  as  a  place  of  worship.  He  was  not  aware  that,  on  the  previous 
Saturday,  the  building  had  been  licensed  as  a  place  for   Dissenting  worship.      He 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


209 


Stated  that  persons  collecting  money  in  an  unlicensed  place  were  liable  to  be  treated 
as  rogues  and  vagabonds  ;  and  went  on  to  add  that  a  further  question  might  arise, 
as  to  whether  the  parties  causing  large  congregations  to  assemble  were  not  liable 
to  a  still  graver  charge.  This  liberal-minded  person  represented  the  mind  of  a 
considerable  section  whose   thoughts  of   the   preacher  were  bitterness   itself     The 


THE   NEW   CONDUCTOR. 


magistrate,  however,  assured  the  applicant  that  the  law  permitted  public  buildings  to 
be  used  as  places  of  worship  for  temporary  purposes. 

The  following  article  appeared  in  The  Sahu'day  Review,  October  25,  1856  : — 
"  Mr.  Spurgeon  at  the  Surrey  Gardens. 

"If  it  be  true,  as  has  been  said,  that  notables  represent,  rather  than  create, 
public  opinion,  Mr.  Spurgeon  and  his  doings  are  worth  a  more  serious  consideration 
than  their  intrinsic  value  would  justify.     The  manners   of  an  age  or  people  do  not 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


follow  its  literature, — they  produce  it.  Crebillon  or  Shaftesbury  did  not  form  the 
taste  or  principles  of  their  contemporaries  ; — Voltaire  did  not  so  much  educate  as 
embody  his  times  ; — and,  in  like  manner,  Mr.  Spurgeon  does  not  create  the  state  of 
feeling- to  which  he  owes  his  popularity.  It  is  a  melancholy  reflection  that  such  a  per- 
sonage is  a  notable  at  all.  It  is  no  new  thing  that  there  should  be  popular  delusions  ; 
but  we  had  flattered  ourselves  that  we  had  oudived  the  days  of  religious,  or  so-called 
religious,  epidemics.  Yet  the  age  of  spirit-rapping  and  of  Mr.  Spurgeon, — the  times 
in  which  Dr.  Gumming  is  an  authority,  and  Joe  Smith  and  Mr.  Prince  are  prophets, 
— cannot  cast  stones  at  any  '  dark  ages.'  Whatever  legitimate  weapons,  be  they  of 
argument  or  ridicule,  can  be  employed  to  arrest  the  progress  of  mere  imposture,  we 
hold  to  be  justifiable.  We  should  not  deem  Mr.  Spurgeon  entitled  to  the  place 
which  he  at  this  moment  occupies  in  public  attention, — and  certainly  we  should  not 
trouble  ourselves  with  any  reference  to  his  proceedings, — did  we  not  consider  him 
rather  as  a  sign  and  a  result  than  an  original.  His  success  is  simply  of  the  vulgarest 
and  most  commonplace  type.  Given  a  person  of  some  natural  talents,  with  matchless 
powers  of  acquired  impudence,  and  a  daring  defiance  of  good  taste,  and  often  of 
common  decency, — and  he  will  always  produce  an  effect.  Anybody  who  will  give 
himself  out  as  some  great  one,  will  find  followers  enough  to  accept  his  leadership. 
A  charlatan  will  never  be  without  dupes.  The  crowds  who  flock  to  the  various 
Spurgeon  conventicles  are  only  of  the  class  who  would  follow  the  bottle  conjuror, 
or  anyone  who  chose  to  advertise  that  he  would  fly  from  the  Monument  to  the  dome 
ot  St.  Paul's.  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  perfectly  aware  that  human  nature  is  much  the  same 
now  as  it  was  five  hundred  years  ago,  and  it  is  with  humiliation  that  we  concur  in 
his  estimate.  His  crowded  congregations  are  part  of  his  stock-in-trade.  He  hires 
Exeter  Hall  or  the  Surrey  Gardens  merely  in  the  way  of  an  advertisement.  If  he 
could  have  the  Coliseum  at  Rome,  it  would  be  a  safe  investment.  His  scheme  for 
building  a  conventicle  to  hold  fifteen  thousand  persons  is  all  in  the  way  of  business, 
just  like  the  big  shop,  toute  la  Rue  du  Cog,  in  Paris. 

"  All  we  can  do  is  to  warn  the  public  ;  but  we  are  afraid  it  will  be  to  little 
purpose.  Popultis  vuit  decipi.  It  is,  we  fear,  scarcely  more  useless  to  caution 
people  against  joint-stock  banks  and  public  companies  when  there  is  a  plethora  of 
money,  than  seriously  to  hold  up  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  the  world  as  a  very  ordinary 
impostor.  The  only  effectual  remedy  is,  in  the  one  case,  to  provide  safe  and  honest 
investments  for  capital  ; — in  the  other,  to  offer  more  healthful  and  rational  counter- 
attractions.  We  have  been  accused,  in  some  quarters,  of  recommending  Sunday 
amusements  in  the  place  of  religion.  As  a  fact,  we  have  done  no  such  thing,  for  our 
arguments  were  all  based  on  the  compatibility  of  religious  exercises  with  healthful 
and  innocent  recreation,  and  the  policy  of  combining  them.  But  if  the  question  is 
between  Sunday  bands  and  Sunday  doings  of  the  Spurgeon  charactei-  at  the  Surrey 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  2  I  I 

Gardens,  by  all  means,  we  say,  let  the  bands  at  least  be  admitted  to  unrestricted  com- 
petition. We  do  not  wish  to  silence  Mr.  Spurgeon ;  but,  for  the  sake  of  the  public  safety, 
let  there  be  a  chance  of  thinning  the  crowds.  Very  judiciously,  on  a  late  occasion,  we 
had  fireworks  simultaneously  in  the  West  End  Parks,  on  Primrose  Hill,  and  in  the 
East  of  London  ;  and  we  do  not  see  why  Mr.  Spurgeon  should  have  a  monopoly  of 
brazen  instruments  South  of  the  Thames.  Whitefield  used  to  preach  at  fairs.  In 
these  days  of  open  competition,  we  perceive  no  reason  why  this  practice  should  not 
be  inverted.  The  innovation  would  only  be  the  substitution  of  one  set  of  amuse- 
ments for  another ; — or,  rather,  an  addition  to  our  list  of  Sunday  sports.  Let 
religious  people  ask  themselves  whether  this  is  not  in  fact  the  true  way  of  putting 
the  case.  It  is  a  profanation  to  religion  to  imagine  that,  as  regards  the  crowds  who 
flock  to  the  Spurgeon  show,  there  is  any  higher  influence  at  work  than  the  common 
love  of  excitement.  Mr.  Spurgeon's  doings  are,  we  believe,  entirely  discountenanced 
by  his  co-religionists.  There  is  scarcely  a  Dissenting  minister  of  any  note  who 
associates  with  him.  We  do  not  observe,  in  any  of  his  schemes  or  building 
operations,  the  names,  as  trustees  or  the  like,  of  any  leaders  in  what  is  called  the 
religious  world.  Nor  can  we  attribute  to  mere  envy  the  feelings  with  which  Mr. 
Spurgeon  is  apparently  regarded  by  those  respectable  persons  who  are  his  brethren 
in  the  Dissenting  ministry.  Somehow,  it  is  generally  felt  that  religion  is  not 
benefited  by  his  abnormal  proceedings.  There  is,  at  any  rate,  this  most  remarkable 
differentia  between  him  and  other  revivalists, — that  he  stands  alone,  or  nearly  so. 
The  fact  is  an  antecedent  ground  for  grave  suspicion  and  natural  distrust. 

"  This  hiring  of  places  of  public  amusement  for  Sunday  preaching  is  a  novelty, 
and  a  painful  one.  It  looks  as  if  religion  were  at  its  last  shift.  It  is  a  confession  of 
weakness  rather  than  a  sign  of  strength.  It  is  not  wrestling  with  Satan  in  his 
strongholds, — to  use  the  old  earnest  Puritan  language  ; — but  entering  into  a  very 
cowardly  truce  and  alliance  with  the  world.  After  all,  Mr.  Spurgeon  only  affects  to 
be  the  Sijnday  Jullien.  We  are  told  of  the  profanity  which  must  have  been  at  the 
bottom  of  the  clerical  mind  when  the  Church  acted  miracle-plays,  and  tolerated  the 
Feast  of  the  Ass  ;  but  the  old  thing  reappears  when  popular  preachers  hire  concert- 
rooms,  and  preach  Particular  Redemption  in  saloons  reeking  with  the  perfume  of 
tobacco,  and  yet  echoing  with  the  chaste  melodies  of  Bobbing  Around  and  the  valse 
from  the  Traviata.  And  where  is  this  to  end  ?  If,  as  Mr.  Spurgeon  doubtless 
argued,  Exeter  Hall  can  be  hired  by  a  clergyman  of  the  Establishment  to  read  Mr. 
Caird's  sermon,  and  if  the  enterprising  divine  who  performed  this  notable  feat  was 
rewarded  for  it  by  the  judicious  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  with  a  living  of  ^500  per 
annum,  why  should  not  he  hire  the  Surrey  Gardens  ?  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  outbid  Mr. 
Mansfield  ;  but  why  should  not  somebody  outbid  Mr.  Spurgeon  ?  Or  why  should 
he  be  content  with  his   present  achievements }     The  Surrey  Gardens  affair   was  a 


212  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

great  coup.  The  deplorable  accident,  in  which  seven  people  lost  their  lives,  and 
scores  were  maimed,  mutilated,  or  otherwise  cruelly  injured,  Mr.  Spurgeon  only 
considers  as  an  additional  intervention  of  Providence  in  his  favour.  '  This  event 
will,  I  trust,  teach  us  the  necessity  of — being  sober,  rational,  and  decent .'' — No; — 
'having  a  building  of  our  own.'  Preach  another  crowd  into  a  frenzy  of  terror, — kill 
and  smash  a  dozen  or  two  more, — and  then  the  speculation  will  have  succeeded. 

"Mr.  Spurgeon,  improving  the  occasion,  is  said  to  have  remarked  that  'this 
gathering  had  aroused  Satan,  and  he  would  not  allow  the  service  to  go  on  without 
endeavouring  to  interrupt  it.'  We  do  not  profess  that  familiarity  with  Satan  and  his 
doings  which  is  enjoyed  by  Mr.  Spurgeon.  Doubtless,  he  possesses  more  of  Satan's 
confidence,  and  more  knowledge  of  his  character,  than  ordinary  men  ;  at  least,  with 
our  estimate  of  the  power  of  evil,  we  should  judge  so  from  this  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  deplorable  result  of  his  vanity  and  cupidity.  We  certainly  believe  that 
Satan  was  busy  enough  on  Sunday  evening  last.  The  reporters  tell  us  that  the 
publicans  and  pickpockets  '  reaped  a  rich  harvest '  from  the  occasion.  These  are, 
at  any  rate,  new  fruits  of  a  gospel  ministry,  and  strange  triumphs  of  the  cross. 
Expostulation  and  advice  are  thrown  away  upon  one  who  can  act  as  Mr.  Spurgeon 
is  reported  to  have  acted  in  the  very  presence  of  these  unusual  seals  to  his  ministry. 
Yet  it  is  always  a  public  duty  to  show  up  selfishness  and  vanity  ;  and  we  can  only 
hope  that  it  will  prove  in  this  instance  to  be  a  public  benefit  also." 

Our  church-book  contains  the  following  entry  concerning  the  catastrophe  ;  it 
shows  the  way  in  which  this  great  afiliction  was  viewed  by  our  own  friends  : — 
"  Lord's-day,  October  19,  1856.  On  the  evening  of  this  day,  in  accordance  with  the 
resolution  passed  at  the  church-meeting,  October  6,  the  church  and  congregation 
assembled  to  hear  our  Pastor  in  the  Music  Hall  of  the  Royal  Surrey  Gardens.  A 
very  large  number  of  persons  (about  7,000)  were  assembled  on  that  occasion,  and 
the  service  was  commenced  in  the  usual  way,  by  singing,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and 
prayer.  Just,  however,  after  our  Pastor  had  commenced  his  prayer,  a  disturbance 
was  caused  (as  it  is  supposed,  by  some  evil-disposed  persons  acting  in  concert),  and 
the  whole  congregation  was  seized  with  a  sudden  panic.  This  caused  a  fearful  rush 
to  the  doors,  particularly  from  the  galleries.  Several  persons,  either  in  consequence 
of  their  heedless  haste,  or  from  the  extreme  pressure  of  the  crowd  behind,  were 
thrown  down  on  the  stone  steps  of  the  north-west  staircase,  and  were  trampled  on  by 
the  crowd  pressing  upon  them.  The  lamentable  result  was  that  seven  persons  lost 
their  lives,  and  twenty-eight  were  removed  to  the  hospitals  seriously  bruised  and 
injured.  Our  Pastor,  not  being  aware  that  any  loss  of  life  had  occurred,  continued 
in  the  pulpit,  endeavouring  by  every  means  in  his  power  to  alleviate  the  fear  of  the 
people,  and  was  successful  to  a  very  considerable  extent.      In  attempting  to  renew  the 


C.      H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  213 

service,  it  was  found  that  the  people  were  too  excited  to  Hsten  to  him,  so  the  service 
was  closed,  and  those  who  had  remained  dispersed  quietly.  This  lamentable 
circumstance  produced  very  serious  effects  on  the  nervous  system  of  our  Pastor. 
He  was  entirely  prostrated  for  some  days,  and  compelled  to  relinquish  his  preaching- 
engagements.  Through  the  great  mercy  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  he  was,  however, 
restored  so  as  to  be  able  to  occupy  the  pulpit  in  our  own  chapel  on  Sunday, 
November  2nd,  and  gradually  recovered  his  wonted  health  and  vigour.  'The  Lord's 
name  be  praised  '•  ' 

"The  church  desires  to  note  this  event  in  their  Minutes,  and  to  record  their 
devout  thankfulness  to  God  that,  in  this  sad  calamity,  the  lives  of  their  beloved 
Pastor,  and  deacons,  and  members  were  all  preserved  ;  and  also  with  the  hope  that 
our  Heavenly  Father  may,  from  this  seeming  evil,   produce  the  greatest  amount  of 


(Mr.  Spurgeon  did  not  approve  of  the  printing  of  his  prayers,  as  a  rule  ;  but  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  church  and  congregation  met  on  that  Lord's-day 
morning, — November  2,  1856, — were  so  unusual,  that  an  exception  may  be  made  in 
order  to  insert  the  record  of  the  Pastor's  first  public  utterance  after  the  accident  : — 

"  We  are  assembled  here,  O  Lord,  this  day,  with  mingled  feelings  of  joy 
and  sorrow, — joy  that  we  meet  each  other  again,  and  sorrow  for  those  who  have 
suffered  bereavements.  Thanks  to  Thy  Name  !  Thanks  to  Thy  Name !  Thy 
servant  feared  that  he  should  never  be  able  to  meet  this  congregation  again  ;  but 
Thou  hast  brought  him  up  out  of  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and  not  even  the  smell 
of  fire  has  passed  upon  him.  Thou  hast,  moreover,  given  Thy  servant  special 
renewal  of  strength,  and  he  desires  now  to  confirm  those  great  promises  of  free 
grace  which  the  gospel  affords.  Thou  knowest,  O  Lord,  our  feelings  of  sorrow  ! 
We  must  not  open  the  sluices  of  our  woe  ;  but,  O  God,  comfort  those  who  are 
lingering  in  pain  and  suffering,  and  cheer  those  who  have  been  bereaved  !  Let 
great  blessings  rest  upon  them, — the  blessings  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  of  this 
world,  too.  And  now,  O  Lord,  bless  Thy  people  !  We  have  loved  one  another 
with  a  pure  heart  fervently  ; — we  have  rejoiced  in  each  other's  joy, — we  have  wept 
together  in  our  sorrow.  Thou  hast  welded  us  together,  and  made  us  one  in 
doctrine,  one  in  practice,  and  one  in  holy  love.  Oh,  that  it  may  be  said  of  each 
individual  now  present  with  us  that  he  is  bound  up  in  the  bundle  of  life  !  O  Lord,  we 
thank  Thee  even  for  all  the  slander,  and  calumny,  and  malice,  with  which  Thou  hast 
allowed  the  enemy  to  honour  us  ;  and  we  pray  Thee  to  grant  that  we  may  never 
give  them  any  real  cause  to  blaspheme  Thy  holy  Name !  We  ask  this  for  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ's  sake.     Amen." 

The  opening  sentences  of  the  discourse  delivered  on  that  occasion  have  a  special 


2  14  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPMV. 

and  permanent   interest    from   the   fact   that   the    Lord   so   abundantly   fulfilled    Mr. 
Spurgeon's  prophecy  concerning  future  services  and  blessing  in  the  Music  Hall  : — 

"  I  almost  regret,  this  morning,  that  I  have  ventured  to  occupy  this  pulpit, 
because  I  feel  utterly  unable  to  preach  to  you  for  your  profit.  I  had  thought  that 
the  quiet  and  repose  of  the  last  fortnight  had  removed  the  effects  of  that  terrible 
catastrophe  ;  but  on  coming  back  to  this  chapel  again,  and  more  especially, 
standing  here  to  address  you,  I  feel  somewhat  of  those  same  painful  emotions  which 
well-nigh  prostrated  me  before.  You  will  therefore  excuse  me,  this  morning,  if  I 
make  no  allusion  to  that  solemn  event,  or  scarcely  any.  I  could  not  preach  to  you 
upon  a  subject  that  should  be  in  the  least  allied  to  it  ;  I  should  be  obliged  to  be  silent 
if  I  should  bring  to'  my  remembrance  that  terrific  scene  in  the  midst  of  which  it  was  my 
solemn  lot  to  stand.  God  will  overrule  it,  doubtless.  It  may  not  have  been  so  much 
by  the  malice  of  men,  as  some  have  asserted  ;  it  was  perhaps  simple  wickedness, — an 
intention  to  disturb  a  congregation  ;  but  certainly  with  no  thought  of  committing  so 
terrible  a  crime  as  that  of  the  murder  of  those  unhappy  creatures.  God  forgive  those 
who  were  the  instigators  of  that  horrid  act !  They  have  my  forgiveness  from  the 
depths  of  my  soul.  It  shall  not  stop  us,  hoiuever ;  we  are  not  in  the  least  degree 
daunted  by  it.  I  shall  preach  there  again  yet  ;  aye,  and  God  will  give  us  souls 
there,  and  Satan's  empire  shall  tremble  more  than  ever.  God  is  with  us  ;  who  is  he 
that  shall  be  against  us  ?  The  te.xt  I  have  selected  is  one  that  has  comforted  me, 
and,  in  a  great  measure,  enabled  me  to  come  here  to-day, — the  reflection  upon 
it  had  such  a  power  of  comfort  on  my.  depressed  spirit.  It  is  this: — 'Wherefore 
God  also  hath  highly  exalted  Him,  and  given  Him  a  Name  which  is  above  every 
name  :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  ot  things  in  Heaven,  and 
things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.'  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
preach  upon  this  text ;  I  shall  only  make  a  few  remarks  that  have  occurred  to  my 
own  mind  ;  for  I  could  not  preach  to-day.  I  have  been  utterly  unable  to  study,  but 
I  thought  that  even  a  few  words  might  be  acceptable  to  you  this  morning,  and  I 
trust  to  your  loving  hearts  to  excuse  them.  O  Spirit  of  God,  magnify  Thy  strength 
in  Thy  servant's  weakness,  and  enable  him  to  honour  his  Lord,  even  when  his  soul  is 
cast  down  within  him  !  ") 

I  have  many  times  used  the  great  calamity  as  an  illustration  of  the  truth  that 
accidents  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  Divine  judgments  ;  perhaps  the  most  notable 
instance  is  the  sermon  I  preached  soon  after  the  collision  in  the  Clayton  tunnel  on 
the  Brighton  railway  (See  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  Pulpit,  No.  40S.  "  Accidents, 
not  Punishments.")  That  discourse  is  to  me  the  more  memorable  as  I  possess 
a  copy  ol  it  which   Dr.  Livingstone  had  carried  with  him   in  his  African  journeys, 


C.     H.     STURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  215 

and  on  the  top  of  which  he  had  written,  "  Vejy  good. — D.  L."  It  was  found, 
after  his  death,  in  the  volume  of  his  Diary  from  November,  1861,  to  July,  1863, 
and  was  sent  to  me  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Livingstone-Bruce.  In  the  course 
of  the  sermon  I  said: — "  It  has  been  most  absurdly  stated  that  those  who  travel 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  meet  with  an  accident,  ought  to  regard  that 
accident  as  being  a  judgment  from  God  upon  them  on  account  of  their  violating 
the  Christian's  day  of  worship.  It  has  been  stated,  even  by  godly  ministers, 
that  the  late  deplorable  collision  should  be  looked  upon  as  an  exceedingly 
wonderful  and  remarkable  visitation  of  the  wrath  of  God  against  those  unhappy 
persons  who  happened  to  be  in  the  Clayton  tunnel.  Now  I  enter  my  solemn 
protest  against  such  an  inference  as  that,  not  in  my  own  name,  but  in  the 
Name  of  Him  who  is  the  Christian's  Master  and  the  Christian's  Teacher.  I  say  of 
those  who  were  crushed  in  that  tunnel.  Suppose  ye  that  they  were  sinners  above  all 
the  other  sinners  ?  '  I  tell  you.  Nay  :  but,  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish.'  Or  those  who  were  killed  last  Monday,  think  ye  that  they  were  sinners 
above  all  the  sinners  that  were  in  London  ?  '  I  tell  you.  Nay  :  but,  except  ye  repent, 
ye  shall  all  likewise  perish.'  Now,  mark,  I  would  not  deny  that  there  have  been 
judgments  of  God  upon  particular  persons  for  sin  ;  sometimes,  and  I  think  but 
exceedingly  rarely,  such  things  have  occurred.  Some  of  us  have  heard,  in  our 
experience,  instances  of  men  who  have  b'asphemed  God,  and  defied  Him  to  destroy 
them,  who  have  suddenly  fallen  dead  ;  and  in  such  cases,  the  punishment  has  so 
quickly  followed  the  blasphemy  that  one  could  not  help  perceiving  the  hand  of  God 
in  it.  The  man  had  wantonly  asked  for  the  judgment  of  God,  his  prayer  was  heard, 
and  the  judgment  came.  .  .  .  But  in  cases  of  accident,  such  as  that  to  which  I  refer, 
and  in  cases  of  sudden  and  instant  death,  again  I  say,  I  enter  my  earnest  protest 
against  the  foolish  and  ridiculous  idea  that  those  who  thus  perish  are  sinners  above 
all  the  sinners  who  survive  unharmed.  Let  me  just  try  to  reason  this  matter  out 
with  Christian  people  ;  for  there  are  some  unenlightened  Christians  who  will  feel 
horrified  by  what  I  have  said.  Those  who  are  ready  at  perversions  may  even 
dream  that  I  would  apologize  for  the  desecration  of  the  day  of  worship.  Now,  I  do 
no  such  thing.  I  do  not  extenuate  the  sin,  I  only  testify  and  declare  that  accidents 
are  not  to  be  viewed  as  punishments  for  sin,  for  punishment  belongs  not  to  this 
world,  but  the  world  to  come.  To  all  those  who  hastily  look  on  every  calamity 
as  a  judgment,  I  would  speak  in  the  earnest  hope  of  setting  them  right. 

"  Let  me  begin,  then,  by  saying,  my  dear  brethren,  do  you  not  see  that 
what  yoti  say  is  not  true,  and  that  is  the  best  of  reasons  why  you  should  not 
say  it  .'*  Do  not  your  own  experience  and  observation  teach  you  that  one  event 
happeneth  both  to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wicked?  It  is  true,  the  wicked  man 
sometimes   falls   dead   in   the  street  ;  but  has    not  the   minister  fallen   dead   in   the 


2i6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

pulpit  ?  It  is  true  that  a  boat,  in  which  men  were  seeking  their  own  pleasure 
on  the  Sunday,  has  suddenly  gone  down  ;  but  is  it  not  equally  true  that  a  ship, 
which  contained  none  but  godly  men,  who  were  bound  upon  an  excursion  to  preach 
the  gospel,  has  gone  down,  too  ?  The  visible  providence  of  God  has  no  respect  of 
persons  ;  and  a  storm  may  gather  around  the  John  ]Villiarns  missionary  ship,  quite 
as  well  as  around  a  vessel  filled  with  riotous  sinners.  Why,  do  you  not  perceive  that 
the  providence  of  God  has  been,  in  fact,  in  its  outward  dealings,  rather  harder 
upon  the  good  than  upon  the  bad  ?  For,  did  not  Paul  say,  as  he  looked  upon  the 
miseries  of  the  righteous  in  his  day,  '  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we 
are  of  all  men  most  miserable  '  ?  The  path  of  righteousness  has  often  conducted 
men  to  the  rack,  to  the  prison,  to  the  gibbet,  to  the  stake  ;  while  the  road  of  sin  has 
often  led  a  man  to  empire,  to  dominion,  and  to  high  esteem  among  his  fellows.  It 
is  not  true  that,  in  this  world,  God  does,  as  a  rule,  and  of  necessity,  punish  men  for 
sin,  and  reward  them  for  their  good  deeds  ;  for,  did  not  David  say,  '  I  have  seen  the 
wicked  in  great  power,  and  spreading  himself  like  a  green  bay  tree  ; '  and  did  not 
this  perplex  the  psalmist  for  a  little  season,  until  he  went  into  the  sanctuary  of  God, 
and  then  he  understood  their  end  .'' 

"  Will  you  allow  me  also  to  remark  that  the  supposition,  against  which  I  am 
eartiestly  contending,  is  a  very  cruel  and  unkind  one  ?  For,  if  it  were  the  case,  that 
all  persons  who  thus  meet  with  their  death  in  an  extraordinary  and  terrible  manner 
were  greater  sinners  than  the  rest,  would  it  not  be  a  crushing  blow  to  bereaved 
survivors,  and  is  it  not  ungenerous  on  our  part  to  indulge  the  idea  unless  we  are 
compelled  by  unanswerable  reasons  to  accept  it  as  an  awful  truth  ?  Now,  I  defy  you 
to  whisper  it  in  the  widow's  ear.  Go  home  to  her,  and  say,  '  Your  husband  was  a 
worse  sinner  than  the  rest  of  men,  therefore  he  died.'  You  have  not  brutality 
enough  for  that.  A  little  unconscious  infant,  which  had  never  sinned,  though, 
doubtless,  an  inheritor  of  Adam's  fall,  is  found  crushed  amidst  the  ddbfis  of  the 
accident.  Now,  think  for  a  moment,  what  would  be  the  infamous  consequence  of 
the  supposition  that  those  who  perished  were  worse  than  others  ;  you  would  have  to 
make  it  out  that  this  unconscious  infant  was  a  worse  sinner  than  many  in  the  dens  of 
infamy  whose  lives  are  yet  spared.  Do  you  not  perceive  that  the  thing  is  radically  false  .'' 
And  I  might  perhaps  show  you  the  injustice  of  it  best  by  reminding  you  that  it  may, 
one  day,  turn  upon  your  own  head.  Let  it  be  your  own  case  that  you  should  meet 
with  sudden  death  in  such  a  way,  are  you  willing  to  be  adjudged  to  damnation  on 
that  account  ?  Such  an  event  may  happen  in  the  house  of  God.  Let  me  recall  to 
my  own,  and  to  your  sorrowful  recollection,  what  occurred  when  once  we  met 
together.  I  can  say,  with  a  pure  heart,  we  met  for  no  object  but  to  serve  our 
God,  and  the  minister  had  no  aim  in  going  to  that  place  but  that  of  gathering  many 
to  hear  who  otherwise  would  not  have   listened  to  his   voice  ;  and  yet  there   were 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  217 

funerals  as  a  result  of  that  holy  effort  (for  holy  effort  still  we  avow  it  to  have  been, 
and  the  aftersmile  of  God  hath  proved  it  so).  There  were  deaths,  and  deaths  among 
God's  people  ; — I  was  about  to  say,  I  am  glad  it  was  with  God's  people  rather  than 
with  others.  A  fearful  fright  took  hold  upon  the  congregation,  and  they  fled  ;  and 
do  you  not  see  that,  if  accidents  are  to  be  viewed  as  judgments,  then  it  is  a  fair 
inference  that  we  were  sinning  in  being  there, — an  insinuation  which  our  consciences 
repudiate  with  scorn  ?  However,  if  that  logic  were  true,  it  is  as  true  against  us  as  it 
is  against  others  ;  and  inasmuch  as  you  would  repel  with  indignation  the  accusation 
that  any  were  wounded  or  hurt  on  account  of  sin  in  being  there  to  worship  God,  what 
you  repel  for  yourself  repel  for  others,  and  be  no  party  to  the  accusation  which 
is  brought  against  those  who  have  been  destroyed,  during  the  last  fortnight,  that 
they  perished  on  account  of  any  great  sin. 

"  Here  I  anticipate  the  outcries  of  prudent  and  zealous  persons  who  tremble 
for  the  ark  of  God,  and  would  touch  it  with  Uzzah's  hand.  '  Well,'  says  one,  '  but 
we  ought  not  to  talk  like  this,  for  it  is  a  very  serviceable  superstition,  because  there 
are  many  people  who  will  be  kept  from  travelling  on  the  Sunday  by  the  accident, 
and  we  ought  to  tell  them,  therefore,  that  those  who  perished,  perished  because  they 
travelled  on  Sunday.'  Brethren,  I  would  not  tell  a  lie  to  save  a  soul  ;  and  this  would 
be  telling  lies,  for  it  is  not  the  fact.  I  would  do  anything  that  is  right  to  stop  Sunday 
labour  and  sin,  but  I  would  not  forge  a  falsehood  even  to  do  that.  They  might 
have  perished  on  a  Monday  as  well  as  on  a  Sunday.  God  gives  no  special  immunity 
any  day  of  the  week,  and  accidents  may  occur  as  well  at  one  time  as  at  another;  and 
it  is  only  a  pious  fraud  when  we  seek  thus  to  play  upon  the  superstition  of  men  to 
make  capital  for  Christ.  The  Roman  Catholic  priest  might  consistently  use  such  an 
argument  ;  but  an  honest  Christian  man,  who  believes  that  the  religion  of  Christ  can 
take  care  of  itself  without  his  telling  falsehoods,  scorns  to  do  it.  These  men  did  not 
perish  because  they  travelled  on  a  Sunday.  Witness  the  fact  that  others  perished  on 
the  Monday  when  they  were  on  an  errand  of  mercy.  I  know  not  why  or  wherefore 
God  sent  the  accident.  God  forbid  that  we  should  offer  our  own  reason  when  God 
has  not  given  us  His  reason  ;  but  we  are  not  allowed  to  make  the  superstition  of 
men  an  instrument  for  advancing  the  glory  of  God.  You  know,  among  Protestants, 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  Popery.  I  meet  with  people  who  uphold  infant  baptism  on 
the  plea,  '  Well,  it  is  not  doing  any  hurt,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  good  meaning 
in  it,  and  it  may  do  .good  ;  and  even  confirmation  may  be  blessed  to  some  people, 
therefore  do  not  let  us  speak  against  it.'  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  whether  the 
thing  does  hurt  or  not  ;  all  I  have  to  do  with  is  whether  it  is  right,  whether  it  is 
Scriptural,  whether  it  is  true  ;  and  if  the  truth  does  mischief, — which  is  a  supposition 
we  can  by  no  means  allow, — that  mischief  will  not  lie  at  our  door.  We  have  nothing 
to  do  but  to  speak  the  truth,  even  though  the  heavens  should  fall." 


2l8 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGI-L\PHV. 


I  thank  God  that,  terrible  as  the  great  catastrophe  was,  there  was  never  in  my 
experience  another  hl^e  it,  for  I  do  not  think  I  could  have  survived  a  second  one. 
I  have,  on  several  occasions,  seen  some  cause  for  alarm  when  I  have  been  conducting 
services  in  places  that  have  not  seemed  to  me  to  be  able  to  stand  the  strain  of  the 
multitudes  gathered  to  hear  the  Word  ;  and  the  sensation  I  felt  at  the  Surrey 
Gardens  has,  in  a  moment,  come  over  me  again.  Many  years  ago,  I  was  preaching 
in  a  building  which  was  exceedingly  crowded  ;  and,  to  my  apprehension,  there  was 
a  continuous  tremor.  I  grew  so  anxious  that  I  said  to  a  friend,  who  understood  such 
matters,  "  Go  downstairs,  and  see  whether  this  structure  is  really  safe  ;  for  it  seems 
hardly  able  to  bear  the  weight  of  this  crowd."  When  he  returned,  he  looked 
anxious,  but  gave  me  no  answer.  The  service  ended  quietly,  and  then  he  said,  "  I 
am  so  glad  that  everything  has  gone  off  safely.  I  do  not  think  you  should  ever 
preach  here  again,  for  it  is  a  very  frail  affair  ;  but  I  thought  that,  if  I  frightened 
you,  there  would  be  more  risk  of  a  panic  than  there  was  in  letting  the  service  go 
on."  The  narrowest  escape  I  ever  had  of  a  repetition  of  the  Music  Hall  fatality 
was  about  eighteen  months  after  the  accident  there  ;  on  the  following  Lord's-day 
morning, — April  ii,  1858, — I  thus  described  to  my  congregation  the  Lord's  merciful 
interposition  ; — 

"  During  this  week,  my  mind  has  been  much  directed  to  the  subject  of 
providence,  and  you  will  not  wonder  when  I  relate  a  portion  of  one  day's  story.  I 
was  engaged  to  preach,  last  Wednesday,  at  Halifax,  where  there  was  a  heavy  snow- 
storm. Preparations  had  been  made  for  a  congregation  of  8,000  persons,  and  a 
huge  wooden  structure  had  been  erected.  I  considered  that,  owing  to  the  severe 
weather,  few  persons  could  possibly  assemble,  and  I  looked  forward  to  the  dreary 
task  of  addressing  an  insignificant  handful  of  people  in  a  vast  place.  However, 
when  I  arrived,  I  found  from  5,000  to  6,000  people  gathered  together  to  hear  the 
Word  ;  and  a  more  substantial-looking  place  it  has  not  been  my  lot  to  see.  It 
certainly  was  a  great  uncomely  building  ;  but,  nevertheless,  it  seemed  well  adapted 
to  answer  the  purpose.  We  met  together  in  the  afternoon,  and  again  in  the  evening, 
and  worshipped  God  ;  and  we  separated  to  our  homes,  or  rather,  we  were  about 
to  separate,  and  all  this  while  the  kind  providence  of  God  was  watching  over  us. 
Immediately  in  front  of  me  there  was  a  huge  gallery,  which  looked  an  exceedingly 
massive  structure,  capable  of  holding  2,000  persons.  This,  in  the  afternoon,  was 
crowded,  and  it  seemed  to  stand  as  firm  as  a  rock.  Again,  in  the  evening,  there  it 
stood,  and  neither  moved  nor  shook.  But  mark  the  provident  hand  of  God  ;  in  the 
evening,  when  the  people  were  retiring,  and  when  there  were  scarcely  more  than  a 
hundred  persons  there,  a  great  beam  gave  way,  and  down  came  a  portion  of  the 
flooringof  the  gallery  with  a  fearful  crash.  Several  people  were  precipitated  with  the 
planks,  but  still  the  good  hand  of  God  watched  over  us,  and  only  two  persons  were 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  219 

severely  injured  with  broken  legs,  which  it  is  trusted  will  be  set  so  as  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  amputation.  Now,  had  this  happened  any  earlier,  not  only  must  many  more 
have  been  injured,  but  there  are  a  thousand  chances  to  one,  as  we  say,  that  a  panic 
must  necessarily  have  ensued  similar  to  that  which  we  still  remember,  and  deplore  as 
having  occurred  in  this  place.  Had  such  a  thing  happened,  and  had  I  been  the 
unhappy  preacher  on  the  occasion,  I  feel  certain  that  I  should  never  have  been  able 
to  occupy  the  pulpit  again.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  first  calamity,  that  I  marvel 
that  I  ever  survived.  No  human  tongue  can  possibly  tell  what  I  experienced.  The 
Lord,  however,  graciously  preserved  us  ;  the  fewness  of  the  people  in  the  gallery 
prevented  any  such  catastrophe,  and  thus  a  most  fearful  accident  was  averted.  But 
there  is  a  more  marvellous  providence  still  to  record.  Overloaded  by  the  immense 
weight  of  snow  which  fell  upon  it,  and  beaten  by  a  heavy  wind,  the  entire  structure 
fell  with  an  enormous  crash  three  hours  after  we  had  left  it,  splitting  the  huge 
timbers  into  shivers,  and  rendering  very  much  of  the  material  utterly  useless  for  any 
future  building.  Now  mark  this, — had  the  snow  begun  three  hours  earlier,  the 
hall  must  have  fallen  upon  us,  and  how  few  of  us  would  have  escaped,  we 
cannot  guess.  But  mark  another  thing.  All  day  long  it  thawed  so  fast,  that  the 
snow  as  it  fell  seemed  to  leave  a  mass,  not  of  white  snow,  but  of  snow  and  water 
together.  This  ran  through  the  roof  upon  us,  to  our  considerable  annoyance,  and  I 
was  almost  ready  to  complain  that  we  had  hard  dealings  from  God's  providence.  But 
if  it  had  been  a  frost,  instead  of  a  thaw,  you  can  easily  perceive  that  the  place  must 
have  fallen  several  hours  before  it  did  ;  and  then  your  minister,  and  the  greater  part 
of  his  congregation,  would  probably  have  been  in  the  other  world.  Some  there  may 
be  who  deny  providence  altogether.  1  cannot  conceive  that  there  were  any  witnesses 
of  that  scfene  who  could  have  done  so.  This  I  know,  if  I  had  been  an  unbeliever  to 
this  day  in  the  doctrine  of  the  supervision  and  wise  care  of  God,  I  must  have  been 
a  believer  in  it  at  this  hour.  Oh,  magnify  the  Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  e.xalt  His 
Name  together  !  He  hath  been  very  gracious  unto  us,  and  remembered  us  for 
good." 

(In  his  record  of  "  The  Life  and  Labours  of  Pastor  C.  H.  Spurgeon,"  published 
by  Messrs.  Passmore  &  Alabaster  under  the  title,  From  the  Ushers  Desk  to  the 
Tabernacle  Pulpit,  Mr.  Shindler  says,  concerning  the  catastrophe  at  the  Surrey 
Gardens: — "Twenty-five  years  afterwards,  the  writer  witnessed  the  terribly 
depressing  effect  the  memory  of  this  sad  event  had  on  Mr.  Spurgeon.  During  the 
session  of  the  Baptist  Union  at  Portsmouth  and  Southampton,  in  1881,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  was  announced  to  preach  in  the  largest  available  room  in  the  former  town. 
Long  before  the  service  began,  every  available  seat  and  all  standing-room  were 
occupied,  and  still  there  were  hundreds  pressing  forward,  and  endeavouring  to  crowd 


220  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

in.  There  was  some  confusion  just  as  the  preacher  was  passing  on  to  the  platform 
to  take  his  seat.  He  seemed  entirely  unmanned,  and  stood  in  the  passage  leaning 
his  head  on  his  hand.  He  told  the  writer  that  the  circumstance  so  vividly  recalled 
the  terrible  scene  at  the  Surrey  Music  Hall,  that  he  felt  quite  unable  to  preach. 
But  he  did  preach,  and  preach  well,  though  he  could  not  entirely  recover  from  the 
agitation  of  his  nervous  system.  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe-Weimar,  a  cousin  of 
Queen  Victoria,  who  was  then  the  military  commander  of  the  district,  was  present 
with  his  suite,  and  cordially  greeted  '  the  prince  of  preachers'  after  his  sermon." 

Pastor  W.  Williams,  in  his  Personal  Reminiscences  of  Charles  Haddon 
Spurgeon,  writes: — "'What  are  you  going  to  preach  from  to-morrow?'  he  once 
asked  me.  '  "  The  curse  of  the  Lord  is  in  the  house  of  the  wicked  :  but  He  blesseth 
the  habitation  of  the  just  ;"  '  I  answered.  He  gave  a  deep  sigh  ;  his  countenance 
changed  even  before  I  had  finished  the  verse,  brief  as  it  was  ;  and  he  said,  in  tones  of 
deep  solemnity,  'Ah,  me!'  'What  is  the  matter,  sir?'  I  asked.  '  Don't  you  know,' 
he  replied,  '  that  is  the  text  I  had  on  that  terrible  night  of  the  accident  at  the  Surrey 
Music  Hall?'  I  did  not  know  it,  but  I  learned,  from  the  mere  mention  of  it,  how 
permanent  was  the  effect  upon  his  mind  of  that  awful  night's  disaster.  I  never 
alluded  either  to  this  text  or  to  the  Surrey  Gardens  calamity  after  that.  I  cannot  but 
think,  from  what  I  then  saw,  that  his  comparatively  early  death  might  be  in  some 
measure  due  to  the  furnace  of  mental  suffering  he  endured  on  and  after  that  fearful 
night.") 


CHAPTER   LI. 


Utx  Stxhitts  at  tijt  ilusic  fUl 


'^  <m\\  v\^    '^ 


C.  H.  SPURGEON  PREACHING  IN  THE  SURREY  GARDENS  MUSIC  HALL. 


Standing  in  this  pulpit,  this  morning,  I  recall  to  myself  that  evening  of  sorrow  when  I  saw  my 
people  scattered,  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  trodden  upon,  injured,  and  many  of  them  killed.  Do 
you  recollect  how  you  cried  for  your  minister,  that  he  might  be  restored  to  a  reason  that  was  then 
tottering?  Can  you  recollect  how  you  prayed  that,  out  of  evil,  God  would  bring  forth  good,  that  all 
the  curses  of  the  wicked  might  be  rolled  back  upon  themselves,  and  that  God  would  yet  fill  this  place 
with  His  glory  ?  And  do  you  remember  how  long  ago  that  is,  and  how  God  has  been  with  us  ever  since, 
and  how  many  of  those,  who  were  injured  that  night,  are  now  members  of  our  church,  and  are  praising 
God  that  they  ever  entered  this  hall  ?  Oh !  shall  we  not  love  the  Lord  ?  There  is  not  a  church  in 
London  that  has  had  such  answers  to  prayer  as  we  have  had ;  there  has  not  been  a  church  that  has  had 
such  cause  to  pray.  We  have  had  special  work,  special  trial,  special  deliverance,  and  we  ought  pre- 
eminently to  be  a  church,  loving  God,  and  spending  and  being  spent  in  His  service.— C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon 
preached  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall.  February  27,  1859. 

I  cannot  speak,  as  a  grey-headed  man,  of  the  storms  and  troubles  which  many  of  you  have 
endured ;  but  I  have  had  more  joys  and  more  sorrows,  in  the  last  few  years,  than  any  man  in  this  place, 
for  my  life  has  been  compressed  as  with  a  Bramah  press, — a  vast  mass  of  emotion  into  one  year.  I 
have  gone  to  the  very  bottoms  of  the  mountains,  as  some  of  you  know,  in  a  night  that  never  can  be 
erased  from  my  memory, — a  night  connected  with  this  place.     I  have  had  also  to  pass  through  severe 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHV. 

suffering  and  trial  from  the  calumny  and  scorn  ot  man,  while  abuse  hailed  pitilessly  on  my  head.  And 
I  have  had  to  endure  acute  bodily  pain  ;  but,  as  far  as  my  witness  goes,  1  can  say  that  the  Lord  is  able 
to  save  unto  the  uttermost,  and  in  tlie  last  extremity,  and  He  has  been  a  good  God  to  me. — C.  H.  S..  in 
sermon  at  the  Music  Halt,  May  22,  1859. 

In  the  best  work  for  the  Lord,  we  have  no  guarantee  against  accidents,  and  the  losses  which  they 
occasion.  The  young  prophet,  in  the  days  of  Elisha.  was  most  laudably  engaged,  yet  the  head  of  his 
axe  flew  off,  and  fell  into  the  water.  Those  who  conclude  that  every  successful  work  has  the  smile  of 
God  upon  it,  should  remember  that  Babylon  was  mistress  among  the  nations,  and  none  could  stand 
against  her,  yet  was  she  abhorred  of  the  Lord.  Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  see,  in  every  temporary 
calamity,  a  proof  that  an  enterprise  is  not  according  to  the  Lord's  mind,  might  condemn  the  preaching 
of  tlie  gospel  itself,  since  in  its  very  infancy  it  subjected  so  many  to  persecution  and  to  cruel  death. 
"Whom  the  Lord  loveth.  He  chasteneth  ;"  and  the  works  which  He  approves,  He  often  renders  difficult. 
When  the  preacher  at  the  Surrey  Music  Hall  saw  his  congregation  scattered  by  the  uproar  of  wicked  men, 
and  mourned  over  precious  life  which  was  so  suddenly  sacrificed,  there  were  friends  who  read  in  that 
shocking  disaster  an  omen  that  the  work  was  not  of  God,  and  that  the  preacher  must  desist ;  but  the 
young  man  did  not  believe  in  omens,  but  in  duty;  and,  therefore,  as  soon  as  he  could,  he  reappeared  in 
his  pulpit,  and  as  the  result  of  his  after-ministry  in  that  place,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  thousands 
found  Christ  by  his  direct  teaching,  while  the  preaching  of  the  Word  in  cathedrals,  abbeys,  music-halls, 
and  theatres,  became  a  tolerated  agency,  and  even  a  popular  method  of  evangelization. — C.  H.  S.,  in 
"  The  Sword  and  the  Trowel,"  1868. 


HE  preaching  in  the  Music  Hall  was  resumed  in  the  morning  only, 
so  that  daylight  prevented  any  further  deed  of  darkness,  although 
the  evening  would  have  been  a  time  more  favourable  for  the 
gathering  of  large  congregations.  Our  first  morning  service  there 
was  held  on  November  23,  1856,  and  our  last  on  December  ii, 
1859  In  the  providence  of  God,  the  great  hall  was  readv  e.xactly 
when  it  was  needed,  and  it  was  available  for  use  almost  as  long  as  it  was  required. 
The  rent  paid  for  its  occupation,  during  the  mornings  only,  was  a  respectable  item  in 
its  accounts  ;  but  Sunday  takings  were  preferred  to  this  sure  income.  The  Sabbath 
before  the  gardens  were  opened  to  the  public  on  the  Lord's-day,  we  cleared  out 
of  the  place,  and  with  our  occupancy,  there  departed  from  the  company  its  chief 
source  of  revenue  Its  downward  way  to  ruin  was  rapid  enough  from  that  hour ; 
both  morally  and  financially  it  sank  hopelessly.  We,  that  is,  preacher  and  people, 
are  bound  to  commemorate  the  kind  providence  which  found  us  such  a  shelter  at 
a  time  when  we  could  not  otherwise  have  obtained  one  for  ourselves.  All  classes 
— from  the  Prime  Minister  downwards — heard  the  Word  there  ;  at  no  time  have 
so  many  of  the  aristocracy  made  acquaintance  with  Nonconformist  worship.  The 
list  of  notable  persons  present  on  any  one  Sunday  is  a  long  one  :  statesmen,  nobles, 
divines,  great  travellers,  and  all  sorts  of  distinguished  persons  came  to  hear  the 
preacher  at  the  Surrey  Gardens.  Their  presence  and  aid  were  hopeful  signs  that  the 
building  of  our  permanent  house  of  prayer  would  be  the  provision  of  a  necessitv,  and 
that  we  could  accomplish  the  heavy  task.  As  for  the  multitude,  they  were  always 
there  in  force  ;  and  these,  not  only  from  the  religious  section  of  society,  but  largely 
from  those  who  never  went  to  public  worship.  The  reading  of  newspapers  before  the 
commencement  of  service,  though  in  itself  objectionable  enough,  was  the  proof  that 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  223 

those  were  present  for  whom  the  effort  was  designed.  The  best  of  all  is,  that  God 
was  with  us.  Conversions  were  numerous,  and  some  of  them  were  of  a  very 
striking  kind  ;  they  were  mainly  from  that  stratum  of  society  which  is  not  touched 
by  ordinary  religious  services.  Though  the  hall  is  completely  swept  away,  it  will 
never  cease  to  hold  a  place  in  the  memory  of  those  to  whom  it  was  their  spiritual 
birthplace.  All  along  through  the  years  in  which  we  worshipped  in  it,  there  were 
continual  additions  to  the  church,  perpetual  discoveries  of  fresh  workers,  and 
constant  initiations  of  new  enterprises.  The  College,  Orphanage,  Colportage, 
Evangelists,  College  Missions,  and  our  various  branch  mission-stations,  have  all 
benefifed  through  the  advance  made  by  the  church  during  those  services.  We 
have  seen  good  brought  out  of  evil  ;  and  in  our  case  we  have  been  made  to 
say  with  the  psalmist,  "  Thou  hast  caused  men  to  ride  over  our  heads  ;  we  went 
through  fire  and  through  water  ;  but  Thou  broughtest  us  out  into  a  wealthy  place." 

When  I  began  to  preach  at  the  Surrey  Gardens,  I  had  such  a  diversified 
congregation  as  few  men  have  ever  had  to  address  irom  Sabbath  to  Sabbath. 
God  alone  knows  what  anxiety  I  experienced  in  selecting  my  subjects  and 
arranging  my  appeals  for  such  a  vast  fluctuating  assembly.  There  was  a  time 
when  my  brain  was  all  in  a  whirl  at  the  very  thought  of  ascending  that  pulpit, 
while  for  all  the  services  among  my  own  people  I  enjoyed  the  greatest  liberty. 
With  the  confidence  of  one  who  felt  his  heart  at  ease  amidst  the  home-circle  of  his 
own  family,  I  spoke  as  if  my  perfect  love  to  the  brotherhood  had  cast  out  all  fear 
of  missing  the  mark,  or  failing  in  the  true  work  ot  a  Pastor.  There  was  all  the 
difference  between  preaching  in  the  hall,  and  in  the  chapel,  that  might  be  expected 
from  the  contrast  between  the  neutral  ground  occupied  in  the  one  case  and  the 
sacred  prestige  enjoyed  in  the  other. 

(After  a  time,  in  addition  to  the  great  numbers  of  strangers  who  always  flocked 
to  the  Music  Hall,  so  large  a  part  of  the  assembly  consisted  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
regular  hearers  that  he  felt  almost  as  much  at  home  there  as  in  New  Park  Street 
Chapel,  and  he  adapted  his  preaching  to  the  altered  condition  of  aftairs.  In 
a  discourse  delivered  on  Lord's-day  morning,  February  28,  1858,  he  said  : — 
"  When  first  I  preached  in  this  hall,  my  congregation  assumed  the  appearance  of  an 
irregular  mass  of  persons  collected  from  all  parts  ot  this  city  to  listen  to  the 
Word.  I  was  then  simply  an  evangelist,  preaching  to  many  who  had  not  heard  the 
gospel  before.  By  the  grace  of  God,  the  most  blessed  change  has  taken  place  ;  and 
now,  instead  of  havine  an  irresfular  multitude  oathered  tooether,  mv  conoregation  is 
as  fixed  as  that  of  any  minister  in  the  whole  of  London.  I  can,  from  this  pulpit, 
observe  the  countenances  of  my  friends,  who  have  occupied  the  same  places,  as 
nearly   as    possible,    for    these    many   months  ;    and    I    have   the   privilege   and   the 


224  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

pleasure  of  knowing  that  a  very  large  proportion,  certainly  three-fourths  of  the 
people  who  meet  together  here,  are  not  persons  who  stray  hither  from  curiosity, 
but  are  my  regular  and  constant  hearers.  And,  observe,  that  my  character  also  has 
been  changed.  From  being  an  evangelist,  it  is  now  my  business  to  become  your 
Pastor  in  this  place,  as  well  as  in  the  chapel  where  I  labour  in  the  evening.  I 
think,  then,  it  will  strike  the  judgment  of  every  person  that,  as  both  the  congregation 
and  myself  have  now  changed,  the  teaching  itself  should  in  some  measure  show  a 
difference.  It  has  been  my  wont  to  address  you  from  the  simple  truths  of  the 
gospel  ;  I  have  very  seldom,  in  this  place,  attempted  to  dive  into  the  deep  things  of 
God.  A  text,  which  I  have  thought  suitable  for  my  congregation  in  the  evening,  I 
should  not  have  made  the  subject  of  discussion  in  this  hall  in  the  morning.  There 
are  many  high  and  mysterious  doctrines  which  1  have  often  taken  the  opportunity  of 
handling  in  my  own  place,  but  which  I  have  not  felt  at  liberty  to  introduce  here, 
regarding  you  as  a  company  of  people  casually  gathered  together  to  hear  the  Word. 
But  now,  since  the  circumstances  are  changed,  the  teaching  will  be  changed  also. 
I  shall  not  now  simply  confine  myself  to  the  doctrine  of  faith,  or  the  teaching  of 
believers'  baptism  ;  I  shall  not  stay  upon  the  surface  of  truth,  but  shall  venture,  as 
God  shall  guide  me,  to  enter  into  those  things  that  lie  at  the  basis  of  the  religion 
that  we  hold  so  dear.  I  shall  not  blush  to  preach  before  you  the  doctrine  of  God's 
Divine  Sovereignty  ;  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  proclaim,  in  the  most  unreserved  and 
unguarded  manner,  the  doctrine  of  election.  I  shall  not  be  afraid  to  propound  the 
great  truth  of  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints  ;  1  shall  not  withhold  that 
undoubted  teaching  of  Scripture,  the  effectual  calling  of  God's  elect ;  I  shall 
endeavour,  as  God  shall  help  me,  to  keep  back  nothing  from  you  who  have  become 
my  flock.  Seeing  that  many  of  you  have  now  '  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,' 
we  will  endeavour  to  go  through  the  whole  system  of  the  doctrines  of  grace,  that 
saints  may  be  edified  and  built  up  in  their  most  holy  faith." 

The  following  Sabbath,  the  Pastor  preached  on  "  Human  Inability,"  from  our 
Lord's  words,  "  No  man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father  which  hath  sent  Me  draw 
him."  A  little  later,  he  discoursed  upon  "  Human  Responsibility,"  taking  for  his  text 
another  of  Christ's  most  weighty  sayings:  "  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto 
them,  they  had  not  had  sin  :  but  now  they  have  no  cloke  for  their  sin."  Not  long 
afterwards,  he  sought  to  set  forth  both  sides  of  Divine  truth  in  a  sermon  entitled, 
"  Sovereign  Grace  and  Man's  Responsibility,"  in  which  he  avoided  the  errors 
of  Arminianism  on  the  one  hand,  and  those  of  Hyper-Calvinism  on  the  other.  In 
course  of  time,  either  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  or  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel, 
Mr.  Spurgeon  had  expounded  all  the  doctrines  of  grace  ;  and  one  result  of  that 
method  of  teaching  the  truth  was  thus  described  by  him  : — 

"  Among    the    many    candidates     for    baptism    and    church-membership,     who 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  225 

came  forward  every  month,  there  were  great  numbers  of  young  people,  and 
others  of  riper  years  who  had  but  recently  found  the  Saviour ;  and  I  was 
delighted  to  hear  them,  one  after  another,  not  only  express  themselves  clearly 
upon  the  great  fundamental  truth  of  justification  by  faith,  but  also  o-ive  clear 
evidence  that  they  were  well  instructed  in  the  doctrines  that  cluster  around  the 
covenant  of  grace.  I  believe  that  one  reason  why  our  church  has  been,  for  these 
many  years,  so  signally  blessed  o*"  God,  is  that  the  great  majority  of  those  who  have 
been  added  to  our  ranks  have  been  well  established  in  the  old-fashioned  faith  of  the 
Puritans  and  the  Covenanters,  and  therefore  have  not  been  turned  aside  or  drawn 
away  from  us.  It  used  to  be  said,  in  those  early  days,  that  we  were  taking  into  the 
church  '  a  parcel  of  girls  and  boys.'  I  remember,  long  afterwards,  at  one  of  our 
great  gatherings  in  the  Tabernacle,  reminding  our  friends  of  this  contemptuous 
remark,  whereat  they  laughed,  and  then  I  added,  '  I  am  happy  to  have  around  me, 
still,  those  very  same  girls  and  boys, — they  are  a  good  deal  older  now, — and  many 
of  their  sons  and  daughters  have  followed  their  parents'  example,  while  some  even 
of  the  grandchildren  of  my  early  converts  are  already  united  with  us.'  ") 

So  far  as  the  general  public  was  concerned,  the  Music  Hall  services  were  a 
great  evangelistic  campaign,  in  which  "  the  slain  of  the  Lord "  were  many.  I 
determined  that,  whether  my  hearers  would  receive  the  gospel,  or  reject  it,  they 
should  at  least  understand  it  ;  and  therefore  !  preached  it  in  plain,  homely  Saxon 
that  a  child  could  comprehend,  and  with  all  the  earnestness  of  which  I  was  capable. 
I  recollect  a  friend  saying  to  me,  one  Sabbath,  as  we  went  down  the  stairs  from  the 
hall,  "There  are  eight  thousand  people,  this  morning,  who  will  be  without  excuse  at 
the  day  of  judgment ;  "  and  I  hope  that  was  the  case  many  another  time  as  the  vast 
multitude  dispersed  from  the  Surrey  Gardens.  I  did  not  please  everybody  even  then  ; 
and  some  found  fault  who  ought  to  have  been  my  best  friends.  I  recollect  great 
complaint  being  made  against  my  sermon  on  the  words,  "  Compel  them  to  come 
in,"  in  which  I  was  enabled  to  speak  with  much  tenderness  and  compassion  for 
souls.  The  violent,  rigid  school  of  Hyper-Calvinists  said  that  the  discourse  was 
Arminian  and  unsound  ;  but  it  was  a  small  matter  to  me  to  be  condemned  by  the 
judgment  of  men,  for  my  Master  set  His  seal  very  clearly  upon  that  message.  I 
think  I  never  preached  another  sermon  by  which  so  many  souls  were  won  to  God,  as 
our  church-meetings  long  continued  to  testify  ;  and  all  over  the  world,  wherever  the 
printed  discourse  has  been  scattered,  sinners  have .  been  saved  through  its  instru- 
mentality ;  and,  therefore,  if  it  be  vile  to  exhort  sinners  to  come  to  Christ,  I  purpose 
to  be  viler  still.  I  am  as  firm  a  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  grace  as  any  man  living, 
and  a  true  Calvinist  after  the  order  of  John  Calvin  himself  ;  and  probably  I  have 
read  more  of  his  works  than  any  one  of  my  accusers  ever  did  ;  but  if  it  be  thought 


226  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

an  evil  thing  to  bid  sinners  "lay  hold  on  eternal  life,"  I  will  be  yet  more  evil  in  this 
respect-,  and  herein  imitate  not  only  Calvin,  but  also  my  Lord  and  His  apostles,  who, 
though  they  taught  that  salvation  is  of  grace,  and  grace  alone,  feared  not  to  speak 
to  men  as  rational  beings  and  responsible  agents,  and  to  bid  them  "strive  to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate,"  and  "  labour  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that 
meat  which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life." 

Among  the  sermons  preached  in  the  Music  Hall,  another  which  was  very 
o-reatly  blessed  was  the  one  entitled,  "  Looking  unto  Jesus."  It  was  often 
mentioned  by  converts  who  were  brought  to  the  Lord  through  hearing  it  delivered  ; 
and  when  it  was  published,  and  scattered  abroad,  I  received  many  testimonies  that 
the  reading  of  it  had  been  attended  with  a  like  unction  from  on  high.  This  fact  I 
do  not  wonder  at,  for  it  is  but  another  proof  of  the  Sovereignty  of  God,  since  the 
discourse  is  one  of  the  most  simple  of  the  series,  and  would  probably  be  overlooked 
by  those  who  were  seeking  for  anything  original  and  striking.  The  Master  is  in  the 
sermon  ;  and,  therefore,  it  has  rejoiced  the  hearts  of  His  people,  when  applied  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  value  a  discourse,  not  by  the  approbation  of  men,  nor  by  the  ability 
manifest  in  it  ;  but  by  the  effect  produced  in  comforting  the  saint,  and  awakening  the 
sinner.  The  sermon  on  "  The  Shameful  Sufferer"  was  the  means  of  a  great  blessing 
to  very  many.  Christ  bleeding  always  makes  the  heart  bleed,  and  His  shame  makes 
men  ashamed  of  sin.  Let  but  the  Holy  Spirit  open  the  eyes  of  men  to  behold  a 
sorrowing  Saviour,  and  they  will  at  once  sorrow  for  sin. 

There  were  many  instances  of  remarkable  conversions  at  the  Music  Hall  ;  one 
especially  was  so  singular  that  I  have  often  related  it  as  a  proof  that  God  sometimes 
guides  His  servants  to  say  what  they  would  themselves  never  have  thought  of 
uttering,  in  order  that  He  may  bless  the  hearer  for  whom  the  message  is  personally 
intended.  -While  preaching  in  the  hall,  on  one  occasion,  I  deliberately  pointed  to  a 
man  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  and  said,  "There  is  a  man  sitting  there,  who  is  a 
shoemaker  ;  he  keeps  his  shop  open  on  Sundays,  it  was  open  last  Sabbath  morning, 
he  took  ninepence,  and  there  was  fourpence  profit  out  of  it ;  his  soul  is  sold  to  Satan 
for  fourpence  !  "  A  city  missionary,  when  going  his  rounds,  met  with  this  man,  and 
seeing  that  he  was  reading  one  of  my  sermons,  he  asked  the  question,  "  Do  you 
know  Mr.  Spurgeon  ?  "  "  Yes,"  replied  the  man,  "  I  have  every  reason  to  know  him, 
I  have  been  to  hear  him  ;  and,  under  his  preaching,  by  God's  grace  I  have  become  a 
new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  Shall  I  tell  you  how  it  happened  ?  I  went  to  the  Music 
Hall,  and  took  my  seat  in  the  middle  of  the  place  ;  Mr.  Spurgeon  looked  at  me  as 
if  he  knew  me,  and  in  his  sermon  he  pointed  to  me,  and  told  the  congregation  that 
I  was  a  shoemaker,  and  that  1  kept  my  shop  open  on  Sundays  ;  and  I  did,  sir.  I 
should  not  have  minded  that ;  but  he  also  said  that  I   took  ninepence  the  Sunday 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  227 

before,  and  that  there  was  fourpence  profit  out  of  it.  I  did  take  ninepence  that  day, 
and  fourpence  was  just  the  profit  ;  but  how  he  should  know  that,  I  could  not  tell. 
Then  it  struck  me  that  it  was  God  who  had  spoken  to  my  soul  through  him,  so  I 
(  shut  up  my  shop  the  ne.xt  Sunday.  At  first,  I  was  afraid  to  go  again  to  hear  him, 
lest  he  should  tell  the  people  more  about  me  ;  but  afterwards  I  went,  and  the  Lord 
met  with  me,  and  saved  my  soul." 

I  could  tell  as  many  as  a  dozen  similar  cases  in  which  I  pointed  at  somebody  in 
the  hall  without  having  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  person,  or  any  idea  that  what 
I  said  was  right,  except  that  I  believed  I  was  moved  by  the  Spirit  to  say  it ;  and  so 
striking  has  been  my  description,  that  the  persons  have  gone  away,  and  said  to  their 
friends,  "  Come,  see  a  man  that  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did  ;  beyond  a  doubt, 
he  must  have  been  sent  of  God  to  my  soul,  or  else  he  could  not  have  described  me 
so  exactly."  And  not  only  so,  but  I  have  known  many  instances  in  which  the 
thoughts  of  men  have  been  revealed  from  the  pulpit.  I  have  sometimes  seen 
persons  nudge  their  neighbours  with  their  elbow,  because  they  had  got  a  smart  hit, 
and  they  have  been  heard  to  sa\,  when  they  were  going  out,  " The  preacher  told  us 
just  what  we  said  to  one  another  when  we  went  in  at  the  door." 

Several  persons  who  joined  the  church  at "  New  Park  Street,  traced  their 
conversion  to  the  ministry  in  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall,  but  they  said  it 
was  not  the  preaching  alone,  but  another  agency  co-operating  with  it  that  was 
the  means  of  bringing  them  to  decision.  They  were  fresh  from  the  country,  and 
one  of  our  friends,  who  is  in  Heaven  now,  met  them  at  the  gate,  spoke  to  them,  said 
he  hoped  they  had  enjoyed  what  they  had  heard,  asked  them  if  they  were  coming  to 
the  chapel  in  the  evening,  and  told  them  he  would  be  glad  if  they  would  be  at  his 
house  to  tea ;  they  went,  he  had  a  word  with  them  about  the  Master,  and  then 
brought  them  again  to  our  service.  The  next  Sunday  the  same  thing  occurred  ;  and 
at  last,  those  whom  the  sermons  had  not  much  impressed,  were  brought  to  hear  with 
other  ears,  till,  through  the  good  old  man's  persuasive  words,  and  the  good  Lord's 
gracious  work,  they  were  converted  to  God. 

While  I  was  preaching  at  the  Music  Hall,  an  unknown  censor,  of  great  ability, 
used  to  send  me  a  weekly  list  of  my  mispronunciations  and  other  slips  of  speech. 
He  never  signed  his  name,  and  that  was  my  only  cause  of  complaint  against  him,  for 
he  left  me  with  a  debt  which  I  could  not  discharge.  With  genial  temper,  and  an 
evident  desire  to  benefit  me,  he  marked  down  most  relentlessly  everything  which  he 
supposed  me  to  have  said  incorrectly.  Concerning  some  of  his  criticisms,  he  was 
himself  in  error  ;  but,  for  the  most  part,  he  was  right,  and  his  remarks  enabled  me 
to  perceive  many  mistakes,  and  to  avoid  them  in  the  future.  I  looked  for  his  weekly 
memoranda  with  much  interest,  and  I  trust  I  am  all  the  better  for  them.  If  I 
repeated  a  sentence  which  I  had  used  two  or  three  Sundays  before,  he  would  write, 


228  c.    n.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  See  the  same  expression  in  such-and-such  a  sermon,"  mentioning  the  number  and 
page.      He  remarked,  on  one  occasion,  that  I  too  often  quoted  the  Hne, — 

"  Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring,' — 

and  he  added,  "we  are  sufficiently  informed  of  the  vacuity  of  your  hand."  He 
demanded  my  authority  for  calhng  a  man  covechus  ;  and  so  on.  Possibly,  some 
young  men  might  have  been  discouraged,  if  not  irritated,  by  such  severe  criticisms  ; 
but  they  would  have  been  very  foolish,  for,  in  resenting  such  correction,  they  would 
have  been  throwing  away  a  valuable  aid  to  progress. 

(The  last  service  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  was  held  on  Lord's-day  morning, 
December  ii,  1859.  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached,  on  that  occasion,  from  Paul's 
farewell  to  the  Ephesian  elders  :  "  Wherefore  I  take  you  to  record  this  day,  that  I 
am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men.  For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you 
all  the  counsel  of  God."  That  discourse  so  well  summarizes  his  three  years'  ministry 
in  the  Music  Hall  that  an  e.xtract  from  it  may  be  appropriately  inserted  here  : — 

"  If  any  of  us  would  clear  our  conscience  by  delivering  all  the  counsel  of  God, 
we  must  take  care  that  we  preach,  in  the  first  place,  ///c  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  We 
ought  to  declare  that  grand  doctrine  of  the  Father's  love  towards  His  people  from 
before  all  worlds.  His  sovereign  choice  of  them.  His  covenant  purposes  concerning 
them,  and  His  immutable  promises  to  them,  must  all  be  uttered  with  trumpet 
tongue.  Coupled  with  this,  the  true  evangelist  must  never  fail  to  set  forth  the 
beauties  of  the  person  of  Christ,  the  glory  of  His  offices,  the  completeness  of  His 
work,  and,  above  all,  the  efficacy  of  His  blood.  Whatever  we  omit,  this  must  be 
in  the  most  forcible  manner  proclaimed  again  and  again.  That  is  no  gospel  which 
has  not  Christ  in  it ;  and  the  modern  idea  of  preaching  the  truth  instead  of 
Christ,  is  a  wicked  device  of  Satan.  Nor  is  this  all,  for  as  there  are  three  Persons 
in  the  Godhead,  we  must  be  careful  that  They  all  have  due  honour  in  our  ministry. 
The  Holy  Spirit's  work  in  regeneration,  in  sanctification,  and  in  preservation, 
must  be  always  magnified  from  our  pulpit.  Without  His  power,  our  ministry  is 
a  dead  letter,  and  we  cannot  expect  His  arm  to  be  made  bare  unless  we  honour 
Him  day  by  day. 

"  Upon  all  these  matters  we  are  agreed,  and  I  therefore  turn  to  points  upon 
which  there  is  more  dispute,  and  consequently  more  need  of  honest  avowal, 
because  more  temptation  to  concealment.  To  proceed  then  : — I  question  whether 
we  have  preached  all  the  counsel  of  God,  unless  predestination,  with  all  its  solemnity 
and  sureness,  be  continually  declared, — unless  election  be  boldly  and  nakedly  taught 
as  being  one  of  the  truths  revealed  of  God.  It  is  the  minister's  duty,  beginning  from 
the    fountain-head,    to   trace  all   the   other  streams  ;    dwelling   on    effectual    calling, 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  229 

maintaining  justification  by  faith,  insisting  upon  the  certain  perseverance  of  the 
beUever,  and  dehghting  to  proclaim  that  gracious  covenant  in  which  all  these  things 
are  contained,  and  which  is  sure  to"  all  the  chosen,  blood-bought  seed.  There  is  a 
tendency  in  this  age  to  throw  doctrinal  truth  into  the  shade.  Too  many  preachers  are 
offended  with  that  stern  truth  which  the  Covenanters  held,  and  to  which  the 
Puritans  testified  in  the  midst  of  a  licentious  age.  W'e  are  told  that  the  times  have 
changed,  that  we  are  to  modify  these  old  (so-called)  Calvinistic  doctrines,  and  bring 
them  down  to  the  tone  of  the  times  ;  that,  in  fact,  they  need  dilution,  that  men  have 
become  so  intelligent  that  we  must  pare  off  the  angles  of  our  religion,  and  make  the 
square  into  a  circle  by  rounding  off  the  most  prominent  edges.  Any  man  who 
does  this,  so  far  as  my  judgment  goes,  does  not  declare  all  the  counsel  of  God. 
The  faithful  minister  must  be  plain,  simple,  pointed,  with  regard  to  these  doctrines. 
There  must  be  no  dispute  about  whether  he  believes  them  or  not.  He  must  so 
preach  them  that  his  hearers  will  know  whether  he  preaches  a  scheme  of  free-will,  or 
a  covenant  of  grace, — whether  he  teaches  salvation  by  works,  or  salvation  bv  the 
power  and  grace  of  God. 

"  But,  beloved,  a  man  might  preach  all  these  doctrines  to  the  full,  and  yet  not 
declare  all  the  counsel  of  God.  It  is  not  enough  to  preach  doctrine  ;  we  must 
preach  duty,  we  must  faithfully  and  firmly  insist  upon  practice.  So  long  as  you  will 
preach  nothing  but  bare  doctrine,  there  is  a  certain  class  of  men,  of  perverted 
intellect,  who  will  admire  you  ;  but  once  begin  to  preach  responsibility, — say 
outright,  once  for  all,  that  if  the  sinner  perish,  it  is  his  own  fault,  that  if  any  man 
sinks  to  hell,  his  damnation  will  lie  at  his  own  door,  and  at  once  there  is  a  cry  of 
'Inconsistency;  how  can  these  two  things  stand  together.'''  Even  good  Christian 
men  are  found  who  cannot  endure  the  whole  truth,  and  who  will  oppose  the  servant 
of  the  Lord  who  will  not  be  content  with  a  fragment,  but  will  honestly  present 
the  whole  gospel  of  Christ.  This  is  one  of  the  troubles  that  the  faithful  minister  has 
to  endure  ;  but  he  is  not  faithful  to  God, — I  say  it  solemnly,  I  do  not  believe  that  any 
man  is  even  faithful  to  his  own  conscience,  who  can  preach  simply  the  doctrine  of 
Sovereignty,  and  neglect  to  insist  upon  the  doctrine  of  responsibility.  I  do  assuredly 
believe  that  every  man  who  sinks  into  hell  shall  have  himself  alone  to  curse  for  it. 
The  apostle  Paul  knew  how  to  dare  public  opinion,  and  on  one  hand  to  preach 
the  duty  of  man,  and  on  the  other  the  Sovereignty  of  God.  I  would  borrow  the 
wings  of  an  eagle,  and  fly  to  the  utmost  height  of  high  doctrine  when  I  am  preaching 
Divine  Sovereignty.  God  hath  absolute  and  unlimited  power  over  men  to  do  with 
them  as  He  pleases,  even  as  the  potter  doeth  with  the  clay.  Let  not  the  creature 
question  the  Creator,  for  He  hath  given  no  account  of  His  matters.  But  when  I 
preach  concerning  man,  and  look  at  the  other  aspect  of  truth,  I  dive  to  the  utmost 
depth.      I  am,  if  you  will  so  call   me,  a  low  doctrine  man   in  that,   for  as  an  honest 


230  C.     H.     STURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

messenger  of  Christ  I  must  use  His  own  language,  and  cry,  '  He  that  believeth  not 
is  condemned  already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  Name  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.' 

"  Moreover,  if  a  man  would  declare  all  the  counsel  of  God,  and  not  shun  to  do 
so,  he  must  be  very  outspoken  concerning  the  crying  sins  of  the  times.  The  honest 
minister  does  not  merely  condemn  sin  in  the  mass,  he  singles  out  separate  sins  in  his 
hearers  ;  and  without  drawing  the  bow  at  a  venture,  he  puts  an  arrow  on  the  string, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  sends  it  right  home  to  the  individual  conscience.  He  who  is 
true  to  his  God  looks  to  his  congregation  as  separate  individuals  ;  and  he  endeavours 
to  adapt  his  discourse  to  men's  consciences,  so  that  they  will  perceive  he  speaks  of 
them.  If  there  be  a  vice  that  you  should  shun,  if  there  be  an  error  that  you  should 
avoid,  if  there  be  a  duty  that  you  ought  to  fulfil,  if  all  these  things  be  not  mentioned 
in  the  discourses  from  the  pulpit,  the  minister  has  shunned  to  declare  all  the  counsel 
of  God.  If  there  be  one  sin  that  is  rife  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  especially  in  the 
congregation,  should  the  minister  avoid  that  particular  vice  in  order  to  avoid  offending 
you,  he  has  been  untrue  to  his  calling,  dishonest  to  his  God. 

"  But,  then,  let  me  remark  further,  the  true  minister  of  Christ  feels  impelled  to 
preach  the  whole  truth,  because  it  and  it  alone  can  meet  the  wants  of  man.  The  believer 
in  Christ,  if  he  is  to  be  kept  pure,  simple,  holy,  charitable,  Christ-like,  is  only  to  be 
kept  so  by  the  preaching  of  the  whole  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  And  as  for  the 
salvation  of  sinners,  ah  !  my  hearers,  we  can  never  expect  God  to  bless  our  ministry 
to  the  conversion  of  sinners,  unless  we  preach  the  gospel  as  a  whole.  Let  me  get 
but  one  part  of  the  truth,  and  always  dwell  upon  it,  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other, 
and  I  cannot  expect  my  Master's  blessing;  but  if  I  preach  as  He  would  have  me 
preach.  He  will  certainly  own  the  Word  ;  He  will  never  leave  it  without  His  own 
living  witness.  But  let  me  imagine  that  I  can  improve  the  gospel,  that  I  can  make 
it  consistent,  that  I  can  dress  it  up  and  make  it  look  finer,  I  shall  find  that  my 
Master  has  departed,  and  that  'Ichabod'  is  written  on  the  walls  of  the  sanctuary. 
How  many  there  are  kept  in  bondage  through  neglect  of  gospel  invitations  !  They 
go  up  to  the  house  of  God,  longing  to  be  saved,  and  there  is  nothing  but  predestina- 
tion for  them.  On  the  other  hand,  what  multitudes  are  kept  in  darkness  through 
practical  preaching  !  It  is,  '  Do  !  Do  !  Do  ! '  and  nothing  but  '  Do  !  '  and  the  poor 
soul  comes  away,  and  says,  '  Of  what  use  is  that  command  to  me  ?  I  can  do  nothing. 
Oh,  that  I  had  the  way  of  salvation  pointed  out  as  available  for  me  ! ' 

"  I  must  now  address  to  you  A  very  few  earnest,  sincere,  and  affectionate 
WORDS  BY  WAY  OF  FAREWELL.  I  wish  not  to  Say  anything  in  self-commendation  ;  I 
will  not  be  my  own  witness  as  to  my  faithfulness  ;  but  I  appeal  to  you,  I  take  you  to 
witness  this  day,  that  '  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God.' 
Often  have  I   come   into   this  pulpit   in  great  weakness,  and  I    have  far  more  olten 


C.      H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  23I 

gone  away  in  great  sorrow,  because  I  hav'e  not  preached  to  you  as  earnestly  as  I 
desired.  I  confess  to  many  errors  and  failings,  and  more  especially  to  a  want  of 
earnestness  when  engaged  in  prayer  for  your  souls  ;  but  there  is  one  charge  of  which 
my  conscience  acquits  me,  this  morning,  and  I  think  you  will  acquit  me,  too,  '  for  I 
have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God.'  If  in  anything  I 
have  erred,  it  has  been  an  error  of  judgment.  I  may  have  been  mistaken  ;  but,  so 
far  as  I  have  learned  the  truth,  I  can  say  that  no  fear  of  public  opinion,  nor  of 
private  opinion,  .has  ever  turned  me  aside  from  that  which  I  hold  to  be  the  truth  of 
my  Lord  and  Master.  \  have  preached  to  you  the  precious  things  of  the  gospel. 
I  have  endeavoured,  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability,  to  preach  grace  in  all  its  fulness, 
I  know  the  preciousness  of  that  doctrine  in  my  own  e.xperience  ;  God  forbid  that  I 
should  preach  any  other!  If  we  are  not  saved  by  grace,  we  can  never  be  saved  at 
all.  If,  from  first  to  last,  the  work  of  salvation  be  not  in  God's  hands,  none  of  us 
can  ever  see  His  face  with  acceptance.  I  preach  this  doctrine,  not  from  choice, 
but  from  absolute  necessity  ;  for  if  this  doctrine  be  not  true,  then  are  we  lost  souls  ; 
your  faith  is  vain,  our  preaching  is  vain,  and  we  are  still  in  our  sins,  and  there  we 
must  continue  to  the  end.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  can  also  say,  I  have  not 
shunned  to  exhort,  to  invite,  to  entreat  ;  I  have  bidden  the  sinner  come  to  Christ.  I 
have  been  urged  not  to  do  so,  but  I  could  not  resist  it.  With  bowels  yearning-  over 
perishing  souls,  I  could  not  conclude  without  crying,  'Come  to  Jesus,  sinner,  come.' 
With  eyes  weeping  for  sinners,  I  am  compelled  to  bid  them  come  to  Jesus.  It  is 
not  possible  for  me  to  dwell  upon  doctrine  without  invitation.  If  you  come  not  to 
Christ,  it  is  not  for  want  of  calling,  or  because  I  have  not  wept  over  your  sins,  and 
travailed  in  birth  for  the  souls  of  men.  The  one  thing  I  have  to  ask  of  you  is  this, — 
Bear  me  witness,  my  hearers,  bear  me  witness  that,  in  this  respect,  I  am  pure  trom 
the  blood  of  all  men,  for  I  have  preached  all  that  I  know  of  the  whole  counsel  of 
God.  Have  I  known  a  single  sin  which  I  have  not  rebuked  .''  Has  there  been  a 
doctrine  that  I  have  believed  which  I  have  kept  back  ?  Has  there  been  a  part  of  the 
Word,  doctrinal  or  experimental,  which  I  have  wilfully  concealed  .'*  I  am  very  far 
from  perfect,  again  with  weeping  I  confess  my  unworthiness,  I  have  not  served  God 
as  I  ought  to  have  done,  I  have  not  been  so  earnest  with  you  as  I  could  have  desired 
to  be.  Now  that  my  three  years'  ministry  here  is  over,  I  could  wish  that  I  might 
begin  again,  that  I  might  fall  on  my  knees  before  you,  and  beseech  you  to  regard 
the  things  that  make  for  your  peace  ;  but  here,  again,  I  do  repeat  it  that,  while  as  to 
earnestness  I  plead  guilty,  yet  as  to  truth  and  honesty  I  can  challenge  the  bar  of 
God,  I  can  challenge  the  elect  angels,  I  can  call  you  all  to  witness,  that  I  have  not 
shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God. 

■'  In  a  little  time,  some  of  you  maybe  frequenting  places  where  the  gospel  is  not 
preached,  you  may  embrace  another  and  a  false  gospel  ;   I  only  ask  this  thing  of  you, 


232  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

— Bear  me  witness  that  it  was  not  my  fault,  that  I  have  been  faithful,  and  have  not 
shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God.  Possibly,  some  here,  who  have 
been  restrained  from  evil  by  the  fact  of  having-  attended  a  place  of  worship,  seeing 
the  chosen  minister  has  gone,  may  not  go  anywhere  else  afterwards.  You  may 
become  careless.  Perhaps,  next  Sabbath-day  you  may  be  at  home,  lolling  about, 
and  wasting  the  day  ;  but  there  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  say  before  you  make  up 
your  mind  not  to  attend  the  house  of  God  again, — Bear  me  witness  that  I  have  been 
faithful  with  you.  It  may  be  that  some  here,  who  have  professedly  run  well  for  a 
time  while  they  have  been  hearing  the  Word,  may  go  back  ;  some  of  you  may  go 
right  into  the  world  again,  you  may  become  drunkards,  swearers,  and  the  like.  God 
forbid  that  it  should  be  so  !  But  1  charge  you,  if  you  plunge  into  sin,  do  at  least  say 
this  one  thing  for  him  who  desired  nothing  so  much  as  to  see  you  saved,  say  I  have 
been  honest  to  you  ;  that  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  counsel 
of  God.  O  my  hearers,  some  of  you  in  a  little  time  will  be  on  your  dying  beds  ! 
When  your  pulse  is  feeble,  when  the  terrors  of  grim  death  are  round  about  you,  if 
you  are  still  unconverted  to  Christ,  there  is  one  thing  I  shall  want  you  to  add  to  your 
last  will  and  testament,  it  is  this, — the  exclusion  of  the  poor  minister,  who  stands 
before  you  this  day,  from  any  share  in  that  desperate  folly  of  yours  which  has  led 
you  to  neglect  your  own  soul.  Have  I  not  implored  you  to  repent  ?  Have  I  not 
bidden  you  look  to  Christ  ere  death  surprises  you  ?  Have  I  not  exhorted  you,  my 
hearers,  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  you  in  the  gospel  ?  O  sinner, 
when  thou  art  wading  through  the  black  river,  cast  back  no  taunt  on  me  as  though  I 
was  thy  murderer,  for  in  this  thing  I  can  say,  '  I  wash  my  hands  in  innocency  ;  I  am 
clear  of  thy  blood.'  But  the  day  is  coming  when  we  shall  all  meet  again  ;  this 
great  assembly  shall  be  merged  into  a  greater  one,  as  the  drop  loses  itself  in  the 
ocean  ;  and,  in  that  day,  if  I  have  not  warned  you,  if  I  have  been  an  unfaithful 
watchman,  your  blood  will  be  required  at  my  hands  ;  if  I  have  not  preached  Christ 
to  you,  and  bidden  you  flee  to  Him  for  refuge,  then,  though  you  perish,  your  soul 
shall  be  required  of  me.  I  beseech  you,  if  you  laugh  at  me,  if  you  reject  my 
message,  if  you  despise  Christ,  if  you  hate  His  gospel,  if  you  will  be  damned,  yet  at 
least  give  me  an  acquittal  of  your  blood.  I  see  some  before  me  who  do  not  often 
hear  me  ;  and  yet  I  can  say  concerning  them  that  they  have  been  the  subject  of  my 
private  prayers  ;  and  often,  too,  of  my  tears,  when  I  have  seen  them  going  on  in 
their  iniquities.  Well,  I  do  ask  this  one  thing,  and  as  honest  men  you  cannot  deny 
it  me  ;  if  you  will  have  your  sins,  if  you  will  be  lost,  if  you  will  not  come  to  Christ, 
at  least,  amid  the  thunders  of  the  last  great  day,  acquit  me  of  having  helped  to 
destroy  your  souls. 

"What  can   I   say  more  .-^      How  shall  I    plead   with   you?     Had    I    an   angel's 
tongue,  and  the  heart  of  the  Saviour,  then  would   I  plead  ;  but    I    cannot  say  more 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  233 

than  I  have  often  done.  In  God's  name,  I  beseech  you,  rtee  to  Christ  for  refuge, 
li  all  hath  not  sufficed  before,  let  this  suffice  thee  now.  Come,  guilty  soul,  and  flee 
away  to  Him  whose  wide-open  arms  are  willing  to  receive  every  e:oul  that  fleeth  to 
Him  in  penitence  and  faith.  In  a  little  time,  the  preacher  himself  will  lie  stretched 
upon  his  bed.  A  few  more  days  of  solemn  meeting,  a  few  more  sermons,  a  few 
more  prayers,  and  I  think  I  see  myself  in  yon  upper  chamber,  with  friends  watching 
around  me.  He  who  has  preached  to  thousands  now  needs  consolation  for  himself; 
he  who  has  cheered  many  in  the  article  of  death  is  now  passing  through  the  river 
himself  My  hearers,  shall  there  be  any  of  you,  whom  I  shall  see  upon  my  death- 
bed, who  shall  charge  me  with  being  unfaithful  ?  Shall  these  eyes  be  haunted  with 
the  visions  of  men  whom  I  have  amused,  and  interested,  but  into  whose  hearts  I 
have  never  sought  to  convey  the  truth  }  Shall  I  lie  there,  and  shall  these  mighty 
congregations  pass  in  dreary  panorama  before  me  ;  and  as  they  subside  before  my 
eyes,  one  after  the  other,  shall  each  one  curse  me  as  being  unfaithful  ?  God  forbid  ! 
I  trust  you  will  dome  this  favour  that,  when  I  lie  a-dying,  you  will  allow  that  I  am 
clear  of  the  blood  of  all  men,  and  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the 
counsel  of  God.  Thunders  such  as  have  never  been  heard  before  must  roll  over 
this  poor  head,  and  lightnings  more  terrific  than  have  ever  scathed  the  fiend  shall 
blast  this  heart,  if  I  have  been  unfaithful  to  you.  My  position — if  I  had  but 
once  preached  the  Word  to  these  crowds,  not  to  speak  of  many  hundreds  of  times, 
— my  position  were  the  most  awful  in  the  whole  universe  if  I  were  unfaithful. 
Oh,  may  God  avert  that  worst  of  ills — unfaithfulness — from  my  head !  Now, 
as  here  I  stand,  I  make  this  my  last  appeal  :  '  I  pray  you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be 
ye  reconciled  to  God.'  But  if  ye  will  not  be,  I  ask  you  this  single  favour, — and 
I  think  you  will  not  deny  it  me, — take  the  blame  of  your  own  ruin,  for  I  am  pure 
from  the  blood  of  all  men,  since  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the 
counsel  of  God." 

On  page  222,  Mr.  Spurgeon  states  that,  after  the  preaching  at  the  Surrey 
Music  Hall  was  discontinued,  "both  morally  and  financially  it  sank  hopelessly."  A 
remarkable  confirmation  of  this  assertion  came  to  hand  while  this  volume  was  in 
course  of  preparation.  It  was  contained  in  a  letter  written  by  a  Christian  man 
who  was  baptized  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  in  November,  1897,  but  who 
had  long  before  been  employed  at  the  hall  under  the  circumstances  which  he 
describes.  In  his  communication,  the  names  of  all  the  persons  mentioned  are 
given  in  full  ;  he  writes  : — 

"  Having  spent  my  last  sovereign  of  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  sight 
of  my  right  eye  while  in  the  '  nigger '  business,  I  was  given  to  understand  that 
Mr. ,  the  manager  of  the  Alhambra,  Leicester  Square,  was  going  to  re-open 


234  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

the  Music  Hall  as  a  theatre  with  a  capital  of  ^63,000;  no  expense  was  to  be 
spared  to  make  the  venture  a  brilliant  financial  speculation.  The  opera  (a  burlesque) 
was   entitled   Eurydice,    and  was   a   shameful  travesty  on   Holy  Writ ;  some  of  the 

characters  portrayed  lost  souls  in  hell.      Knowintr  the  principal  manager,  Mr. , 

at  Norwood,  1  applied  to  him  for  something-  to  do  ;  he  engaged  me,  and  suggested 

that  I  should  go,   under ,  the   decorator  and  property-master,  at  sixpence  an 

hour,  and  two  shillings  for  the  evening,  attending  to  the  female  Blondin.  When  the 
rehearsals  were  on,  the  performers  were  constantly  enquiring,  'What  will  Spurgeon 
think  about  it  ?  What  will  Spurgeon  say  about  it  ?  What  will  Spurgeon  do  about 
it  .-^ '  We  had  not  long  to  wait  before  we  heard  what  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  doing; 
it  came  in  this  wise.  On  learning  that  the  tenants  of  the  houses  overlooking 
the  Gardens  were  nearly  all  members  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  flock,  and  that  they  were 

going  to  petition  against  what  they  considered  an  intolerable  nuisance,   Mr. 

tried  to  mollify  them  by  sending  free  passes  of  admission  for  themselves  and 
their  lodgers.  He  received  the  passes  back  by  post,  with  tracts  and  letters  urging 
him  not  to  attempt  to  wage  war  against  Christ ;  the  writers,  in  many  instances, 
adding  these  significant  words.  '  JVe  are  praying  for  yon.'  This  all  leaked  out 
through  the  manager's  confidants  when  drinking  at  the  theatre  bars. 

"Well,  from  the  opening,  everything  connected  with  the  venture  of  converting 
that  place  from  a  temporary  hospital  to  a  theatre  and  pleasure  gardens,  went  wrong. 
The  performers  played  to  paper  (admission  free  by  ticket)  ;  the  money  lavished  on 
the  speculation   to   reproduce  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  heathen  mythology  went 

out  of  Mr. 's   pocket,   never   to   be   returned,  and   failure   upon  failure  came 

thick  and  fast.  The  very  elements  assisted  in  keeping  the  people  away,  the  violent 
thunderstorms  (almost  phenomenal  while  they  lasted)  caused  the  visitors  to  exclaim, 
'There  is  a  judgment  on  this  place;  it  will  never  pay,'  while  every  fresh  financial 
disaster  was  met  by  the  usual  cynical  phrase,  '  They  re  praying  again,' — meaning 
Mr   Spurgeon   and  his   congregation.      As    I    write   this  true  account,   it  seems  but 

last  week  that  it  all  happened.      Poor — ,  who  died  of  a  broken  heart,  always 

put  his  failure  down  to  the  prayers  of  C.  H.  Spurgeon  and  his  flock.  vVe  rallied 
round  him,  and  got  what  .cenery,  etc.,  we  could  away  from  the  Surrey  Gardens, 
and  tried  the  Satanic  venture  again  at  the  Royal,  Amphitheatre,  Holborn,  but  with 
the  same  result,  nothing  but  disaster. 

"  Perhaps  you  wonder  why  I  never  mentioned  all  this  to  you  before  ;  it  was 
because  I  had  gone  back  to  the  '  nigger '  business,  and  being  a  servant  of  the  devil, 
I  did  not  wish  to  furnish  you  with  anything  in  the  shape  of  testimony  which  would 
only  make  you  mure  importunate  in  urging  me  to  come  to  the  Saviour.  But 
now,  being  a  child  of  God,  through  the  blood  of  Jesus,  I  do  what  I  can  to 
show  forth   His  power  over  sin  and  Satan." 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  235 

After  this  chapter  was  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  the  following  interesting 
letter  was  received.  The  writer  of  it  was  evidently  a  most  appreciative  member  of  the 
great  congregations  that  assembled  at  the  Music  Hall,  and  it  contains  such  a  graphic 
description  of  the  Surrey  Gardens  services,  that  a  place  is  gladly  found  tor  it  here, 
with  heartiest  thanks  to  the  unknown  correspondent  : — 

"  Dear  Mrs.   Spurgeon, 

"As  I  believe  there  will  shortly  be  issued  a  second  volume  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
Autobiography,  I  thought  I  would  venture  to  send  you  some  of  the  impressions  I 
had  concerning  him  at  the  Music  Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens.  I  have  always  been 
of  opinion  that  his  ministry  there  was  the  most  wonderful  and  the  most  romantic 
that  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  any  Christian  minister.  The  vast  concourse  of  people, 
the  almost-dramatic  excitement  e.xperienced  by  them  when  expecting  to  see  the 
youthful  preacher  appear,  the  sudden  hush  and  impressive  silence  of  the  great  throng 
(composed  of  all  classes,  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  very  humblest,)  as  he  was  seen 
to  approach  the  pulpit  stairs,  the  solemn  and  pale  face  contrasting  with  the  black 
hair,  and  the  beautiful  voice  that  charmed  every  ear  as  he  said,  '  Let  us  commence 
the  worship  of  God  by  prayer,' — all  this,  though  it  occurred  forty  years  ago,  is  as 
vivid  in  my  recollection  as  if  it  had  only  happened  recently. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  recall  the  first  time  I  heard  Mr.  Spurgeon.  I  know 
I  had  done  so  before  a  certain  Sunday,  in  April,  1857,  when  my  father  came  home 
full  of  admiration  for  the  sermon  entitled,  '  David's  Dying  Prayer,'  which,  for 
its  matchless  preface,  and  the  stirring  character  of  the  whole  discourse,  must  have 
been  one  of  the  most  notable  ever  delivered.  But  the  first  sermon  of  which  I  have 
a  distinct  recollection  is  No.  133,  '  Heavenly  Rest,'  preached  in  the  following  month. 
How  well  I  remember  enjoying  that  sermon,  and  his  reference  to  the  'Stitch, 
stitch,'  of  the  poor  needlewoman  !  I  believe  Mr.  John  Ruskin  was  present  on  that 
occasion. 

"  I  attended  a  Sunday-school  in  Camberwell,  but  I  had  such  a  passionate 
enthusiasm  for  C.  H.  Spurgeon  that  I  obtained  permission  to  leave  a  few  minutes 
after  ten,  which  enabled  me  to  reach  the  Gardens  in  time  for  service.  I  only  missed 
one  Sunday  morning,  and  that  was  through  ill-health.  I  remember  how  solemn 
was  the  sermon  entitled,  'The  Warning  Neglected,'  preached  November  29;  and 
how  happy  he  was  on  December  20,  when  he  preached  on  '  The  First  Christmas 
Carol,'  and  wound  up  his  sermon  by  wishing  all  his  hearers  the  happiest 
Christmas  they  had  ever  had  in  their  lives.  It  made  me  wonder  whether  the 
assembled  thousands  would  not  verbally  reciprocate  the  kind  wish.  Nor  can  I  ever 
forget  the  discourse,  '  What  have  I  done  ? '  delivered  on  the  last  Sabbath  of 
the  year  1857.      With  what  burning  eloquence  he  condemned  the  sin  of  men  who  were 


236  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

leading  others  astray,  and  warned  them  that  they  would  have  a  double  hell  unless 
they  repented.  He  seemed  to  speak  like  one  ot  the  old  prophets  or  apostles,  and 
several  persons  in  the  galleries,  and  other  parts  of  the  building  where  they  were 
not  able  to  see  him  when  seated,  rose  to  look  at  the  preacher  who  was  uttering 
such  wondrous  words.  In  the  sermon  about  Felix  trembling,  Mr.  Spurgeon  macie 
some  remarks  about  the  workings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  received  strong- 
censure  from  a  preacher  at  Kennington.  He  said  that,  if  the  Holy  Spirit  acted  in 
the  way  Mr.  S.  said  He  did,  he  would  shut  up  his  Bible,  and  never  read  it  again. 
I  know,  however,  that,  in  after  years,  the  same  minister  had  the  highest  opinion 
of  C.  H.  S.,  just  as  a  good  many  others  subsequently  gravitated  towards  him 
whom  they  had  originally  opposed. 

"  During  the  months  of  February  and  March,  1858,  I  thought  he  seemed  sad. 
It  was  about  this  time  that  he  told  his  audience  that  he  looked  upon  them  as  a  fi.xed 
congregation,  and  that  he  would  shape  his  discourses  accordingly.  Still,  he  seemed 
troubled  ;  and,  one  Sunday  morning,  he  commenced  his  sermon  by  saying  that  the 
prophets  in  the  olden  times  spoke  of  the  message  they  had  to  deliver  as  '  the  burden 
of  the  Lord  ;  '  and  I  thought  to  myself  '  You  seem  to  have  the  burden  of  the  Lord 
resting  upon  you  also.'  I  shall  never  forget  the  way  in  which,  about  this  period,  he 
quoted  those  words  of  our  Lord,  '  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me?' 
The  piercing,  wailing,  almost  shrieking  cry,  and  the  sorrowful  tones  of  his  voice, 
must  have  gone  to  many  another  heart  as  they  did  to  mine.  Very  enjoyable  was  it 
to  notice  how  grateful  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  for  having  escaped  a  serious  accident, 
mentioned  in  the  discourse  entitled,  '  Providence.'  It  was  in  April,  1858,  that 
he  preached  from  John  xvii.  24  ;  and,  coming  from  the  hall,  I  told  a  friend  my 
opinion  ot  the  sermon  ;  and  an  old  man,  a  stranger  to  me,  hearing  what  I  said, 
remarked,  'Ah,  my  lad  !  does  it  not  make  one  wish  to  go  to  Heaven  ? '  I  was  very 
much  impressed  by  the  discourse  on  '  The  Wicked  Man's  Life,  Funeral,  and 
Epitaph  ;'  there  was  something  specially  solemn  about  it.  In  the  introduction,  the 
preacher  spoke  of  children  playing  among  the  graves  in  a  churchyard,  and  recalled 
some  of  his  early  memories  of  Stambourne.  But  how  happy  he  was  when  he 
preached,  in  the  month  of  August,  from  that  text,  '  As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy  strength 
be.'  He  had  been  unwell  a  few  days  previously,  and  I  well  remember  two  lines 
of  a  hymn  we  sang  then, — 

"''Tis  He  that  heals  thy  sicknesses, 
And  makes  thee  young  again.' 

"  In  September,  the  sermon  entitled,  '  His  Name — Wonderful ! '  was  listened 
to  by  a  lady-relative  of  mine  who,  for  years  after,  whenever  I  saw  her,  always 
referred  to  it  in  terms  of  admiration  ;  and  the  following  month,  as  you  are  aware, 
Mr.  Spurgeon  was  laid  aside  by  severe  suffering,  which  necessitated  his  being  absent 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  237 

from  the  Music  Hall  for  three  Sundays.  I  recollect  his  coming  back,  the  first 
Sabbath  after  his  illness,  and  being  almost  carried  up  the  pulpit  stairs  ;  the  pre- 
liminary part  of  the  service  was  conducted  very  efficiently  by  Mr.  Probert, 
of  Bristol.  The  sermon  about  Samson,  delivered  in  November,  I  did  not 
hear,  as  I  was  unwell  ;  and  you  may  smile  when  I  tell  you  how  I  endeavoured 
to  sing  to  myself,  during  the  Sunday  morning,  such  hymns  as  '  Grace,  'tis  a 
charming  sound,'  and  '  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow,' — both  being  great  favourites 
with  C.  H.  S. 

"On  December  19,  1858,  the  congregation  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  suddenly 
dwindled  down  to  very  small  dimensions  ;  the  weather  was  not  bad,  but  the  platform 
Avas  only  half-full,  there  was  scarcely  anyone  in  the  third  gallery,  and  the  area  was  only 
three-parts  filled.  Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  a  delightful  discourse  on  God's  love, 
and  I  so  wondered  what  effect  the  reduced  audience  would  have  on  his  mind  that 
I  went  to  New  Park  Street  in  the  evening.  He  certainly  appeared  sad,  but  his 
spirits  rose  as  he  went  on  with  his  sermon.  I  was  rather  anxious,  during  the  week, 
as  to  how  the  Music  Hall  would  look  on  the  following  Sabbath  ;  and  when  that  day 
came,  and  with  it  rain,  I  was  still  more  concerned.  However,  my  sister  and  I  walked 
to  the  service  all  in  the  wet,  and  I  remember  that  she  said,  'Well,  there  will  be  two 
of  us  present,  at  any  rate.'  But  I  had  been  only  meeting  trouble  halt-way,  tor,  on 
arriving,  I  found  that  the  congregation  was  much  larger  than  on  the  previous 
Sunday,  and,  in  a  short  time,  it  reverted  to  its  original  dimensions.  Early  m  the 
New  Year  (1859),  it  was  rumoured  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  going  to  America,  and  he 
confirmed  the  truth  of  the  report  by  telling  his  hearers  that  he  might  be  away  for 
some  time.  However,  we  know  he  never  went  there.  About  this  time,  he  preached 
a  very  able  sermon,  which  was  entided,  '  Reform,'  parts  of  which  were  aimed  at 
some  of  the  amusements  of  the  people,  such  as  dancing  and  the  theatre.  Were 
any  in  his  audience  offended,  I  wonder  ? 

'•  A  month  or  two  later,  during  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  he  suddenly  stopped, 
and  said,  'A  little  while  ago,  when  I  was  worshipping  in  a  Jewish  synagogue,  I  kept 
on  my  hat  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  friends  meeting  there  ;  I  notice  two 
gentlemen,  probably  of  the  Jewish  persuasion,  who  have  their  hats  on  ;  will  they 
kindly  take  them  oft"  as  we  do  when  we  meet  for  worship  ? '  I  could  not  see  the 
parties  referred  to  ;  but,  doubdess,  they  did  as  the  preacher  requested,  for,  after  a 
moment's  pause,  the  service  was  resumed.  Not  many  could  have  conveyed  a  reproof 
in  such  a  kind  manner  to  the  irreverent  individuals  who,  possibly  out  ot  bravado, 
had  kept  on  their  hats  after  the  service  had  commenced. 

"On  the  first  Sabbath  in  July,  Mr.  Spurgeon  delivered  a  very  pathetic  sermon 
from  the  text,  '  Kiss  the  Son,  lest  He  be  angry,'  &c.  On  the  following  Sunday  after- 
noon, he  preached  on  Clapham  Common,  under  a  tree  where  a  man  had  been  killed 


238  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

by  lightning  a  fortnight  previously.  I  shall  never  forget  the  sermon  on  July  17,  1859, 
■'The  Story  of  God's  Mighty  Acts.'  I  believe  the  Music  Hall  authorities  had 
proposed  to  open  the  place  for  concerts  on  Sunday  evening;  but  Mr.  S.'s  threat  to 
leave  prevented  them  doing  so.  How  he  revelled  in  preaching  that  morning  !  It 
was  very  hot,  and  he  kept  on  wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  forehead  ;  but  his 
discomfort  did  not  affect  his  discourse,  his  wards  flowed  on  like  a  torrent  of 
sacred  eloquence. 

"  As  you  are  aware,  in  August  was  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Tabernacle, 
the  ruins  of  which  can  now  be  regarded  with  feelings  similar  to  those  experienced 
by  the  old  Jew  when  he  thought  of  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple,  for  the 
new  Tabernacle  can  never  be  quite  the  same  as  the  old  one.  I  was  present  at 
the  last  service  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  on  December  11,  1859.  It  was  very 
foggy,  but  the  place  was  crowded,  as  much  indeed  as  it  could  be.  I  had  a  front 
seat  in  the  second  gallery,  and  therefore  enjoyed  a  splendid  view  of  the  people. 
Mr.  S.  preached  an  earnest  sermon  on  declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  There 
is  always  something  sad  about  last  things;  and,  as  I  came  away,  I  felt  that  one 
of  the  happiest  experiences  of  my  youth  belonged  to  the  past.  So  also — in  my 
opinion — passed  away  the  most  romantic  stage  even  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  wonderful  life. 

"  I  have  thus  finished  conveying  to  you  some  of  my  impressions  of  your  dear 
husband's  ministry  at  the  Royal  Surrey  Gardens.  You  may  ask  what  useful  purpose 
has  been  served  by  my  writing  about  those  facts  with  which  you,  of  course,  were 
well  acquainted  ;  but  when  I  read  that  the  second  volume  of  C.  H.  Spin-qcon's 
Autobiography  would  cover  his  e.xperience  at  the  Music  Hall,  I  felt  an  irresistible 
desire  to  send  you  these  recollections.  The  other  day,  I  stood  opposite  what 
used  to  be  the  entrance  to  the  old  Gardens.  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  more 
than  forty  years  since,  when  the  carriages,  like  a  stream,  used  to  roll  up  and  down 
the  neighbourhood  with  their  fashionable  occupants,  and  the  thousands  of  people 
coming  away  from  the  hall  when  the  service  was  over ;  also  of  the  number  who 
used  to  wait  to  see  the  young  minister  take  his  departure  ;  and  when  he  was  seen 
to  approach,  with  head  uncovered,  a  section  of  the  crowd,  kindly  and  respectfully, 
would  call  out,  '  Put  on  your  hat,  sir  ;  put  on  your  hat,  sir.'  All  is  now  changed  ; 
and  where  there  was  once  life,  excitement,  and  curiosity,  nothing  but  dulness, 
and  apathy,  and  lifelessness  reign. 

"Were  not  C.  H.  Spurgeon  in  his  youth,  and  \Y.  E.  Gladstone  in  his  old  age, 
the  two  most  wonderful  phenomena  of  the  nineteenth  century  ?  Both  are  gone ; 
but  I  shall  always  count  it  a  great  privilege,  as  well  as  a  high  honour,  to  have  lived 
under  the  influence  of  those  good  and  noble  men.  I  am  aware  of  the  general 
objection  there  is  to  anonymous  communications  ;  but,  for  several  reasons,  I  prefer 
to  abstain  from  giving  my  name  and  address,  which  I  trust  you  will  excuse.      I   may 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


!39 


mention  that   T  am  a  perfect  stranger  to  you,  although,  on  one  occasion,  shortly  after 
the  Tabernacle  was  opened,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  conversing  with  you. 

"  With   every  expression  of  respect, 
"  Believe    me, 

"  Yours    very    faithfully, 

"S.  J.  C") 


The    Fast-day    Service    at    the    Crystal    Palace. 

During  the  time  ot  our  sojourn  at  the  Surrey  Gardens,  it  was  my  privilege  to 
conduct  one  service  which  deserves  special  mention,  tor  it  was  the  occasion  on  which 
I  addressed  the  largest  congregation  to  which  I  ever  preached  in  any  building.  This 
was  on  Wednesday,  October  7,  1857,  when  23,654  persons  assembled  in  the  Crystal 
Palace  to  join  in  the  observance  of  the  day  appointed  by  proclamation  "  for  a  solemn 
fast,  humiliation,  and  prayer  before  Almighty  God  :  in  order  to  obtain  pardon  of  our 
sins,  and  for  imploring  His  blessing  and  assistance  on  our  arms  for  the  restoration  of 
tranquillity  in  India."  About  a  month  previously,  in  my  sermon  at  the  Music  Hall 
on  "  India's  Ills  and  England's  Sorrows,"  I  had  referred  at  length  to  the  Mutiny,  and 
its  terrible  consequences  to  our  fellow-countrymen  and  women  in  the  East.  The 
Fast-day  had  not  then  been  proclaimed  ;  but  when  it  was  announced,  I  was  glad  to 
accept  the  offer  of  the  Crystal  Palace  directors  to  hold  a  service  in  the  centre 
transept  of  the  building,  and  to  make  a  collection  on  behalf  of  the  national  fund  for 
the  sufferers  through  the  Mutiny. 

The  Lord  set  His  seal  upon  the  effort  even  before  the  great  crowd  gathered, 
though  I  did  not  know  of  that  instance  of  blessing  until  long  afterwards.  It  was 
arranged  that  I  should  use  the  Surrey  Gardens  pulpit,  so,  a  day  or  two  before  preach- ' 
ing  at  the  Palace,  I  went  to  decide  where  it  should  be  fixed  ;  and,  in  order  to  test  the 
acoustic  properties  of  the  building,  cried  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  In  one  of  the  galleries,  a  workman,  who 
knew  nothing  of  what  was  being  done,  heard  the  words,  and  they  came  like  a 
message  from  Heaven  to  his  soul.  He  was  smitten  with  conviction  on  account  of 
sin,  put  down  his  tools,  went  home,  and  there,  after  a  season  of  spiritual  struggling, 
found  peace  and  life  by  beholding  the  Lamb  of  God.  Years  after,  he  told  this  story 
to  one  who  visited  him  on  his  death-bed. 

A  complete  record  of  the  service  is  preserved  in  Nos.  154-5  of  The  New  Park 
Street  Pulpit,  so  I  need  not  give  details  here,  but  simply  mention  that  the  text  was, 
"  Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it."  The  collection  amounted  to  nearly 
^500,  to  which  the  Crystal  Palace  Company  added  ^200,  beside  contributing  ^50 
to  the  Tabernacle  Building  Fund,  as  I  declined  to  accept  any  fee  for  preaching.      It 


240 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


was  a  service  that  I  was  not  likely  ever  to  forget,  and  one  result  upon  my  physical 
frame  was  certainly  very  remarkable.  I  was  not  conscious,  at  the  close  of  the 
service,  of  any  extraordinary  exhaustion,  yet  I  must  have  been  very  weary,  for  after  I 
went  to  sleep  that  Wednesday  night,  I  did  not  wake  again  until  the  Friday  morning. 
All  through  the  Thursday,  my  dear  wife  came  at  intervals  to  look  at  me,  and  every 
time  she  found  me  sleeping  peacefully,  so  she  just  let  me  slumber  on  until — 

"  Tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,"' 

had  done  its  work.      I  was  greatly  surprised,  on  waking,  to  find  that  it  was   Friday 

morning  ;    but   it    was   the  only    time   in   my   life    that    I    had    such    an    experience. 

Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  full  results  of  the  Fast-day  service  at  the  Crystal 
Palace. 


C.  H.  SPURGEON  PREACHING  AT  THE  CRYSTAL  PALACE, 


CHAPTER    LII. 


barging  ^oias-^^ro  anb  (Con. 

It  is  not  by  the  power  of  eloquence  that  souls  are  saved.  I  beheve  every  man  who  preaches  the 
gospel  from  his  heart  is  eloquent,  so  I  have  used  a  wrong  word  ;  I  mean,  however,  that  great  oratorical 
powers  are  seldom  made  use  of  by  God  to  produce  great  spiritual  results.  You  have  heard  of  the  preaching 
ot  Whitefield  ;  but  did  you  ever  read  his  sermons?  If  you  did,  you  will  say  they  were  by  no  means  re- 
markable productions  ;  there  is  nothing  in  them  that  I  should  think  could  have  approached  to  oratory, 
it  was  only  the  man's  earnestness  that  made  him  eloquent.  Have  you  heard  any  preacher  who  has  been 
blessed  by  God  to  move  the  multitude  ?  He  has  been  eloquent,  for  he  has  spoken  earnestly  ;  but  as  to 
oratory,  there  has  been  none  of  it.  I,  for  my  own  part,  must  eschew  every  pretension  thereunto.  I  am 
certain  I  never  think,  when  I  come  into  this  pulpit,  "  How  shall  I  talk  to  these  people  in  a  grand  fashion  ?'' 
I  think,  when  1  come  up  here,  "I  have  something  to  say  which  these  people  ought  to  hear;"  but  how  I 
will  tell  it  to  them,  does  not  signify  much  to  me  ;  I  find  the  words,  somehow  or  other,  God  helping  me ; 
but  about  any  o(  Ihe  graces  of  eloquence,  or  the  tricks  of  oratory,  I  am  utterly  and  quite  in  the  dark ;  nor 
do  I  wish  to  imitate  any  who  have  been  masters  in  that  art.  I  believe  that  the  men,  whom  we  call 
eloquent  now  they  are  dead,  were  laughed  at  in  their  day  as  poor  bungling  speakers;  now  they  are 
buried,  they  are  canonized,  but  in  their  lives  they  were  probabl}'  abused. 

Now,  my  brethren,  God,  I  do  think,  will  generally  cast  a  slur  upon  fine  speaking,  and  grand 
compositions,  and  so  on,  in  order  that  He  may  show  that  the  blessing  comes  not  by  any  human  power, 
but  by  His  Spirit.  I  could  stand  here,  and  point  my  finger  in  a  certain  direction,  and  I  could  pause  at 
such-and-such  a  chapel,  and  say,  "There  is  a  man  preaching  there  whose  compositions  are  worthy  to  be 
read  by  the  most  intellectual  persons,  but  whose  chapel  contains,  this  morning,  perhaps  a  hundred 
people."  I  could  point  you  to  another,  of  whose  preaching  I  could  say  that  it  was  the  most  faultless 
oratory  to  which  I  ever  listened,  but  his  congregation  were  nearly  all  of  them  asleep.  I  might  point 
you  to  another,  of  whom  I  could  say  that  there  was  the  most  chaste  simplicity,  the  most  extraordinary 
beauty  in  the  compositions  he  delivered,  but  there  has  not  been  a  soul  known  to  be  saved  in  the  chapel 
for  years.  Now,  why  is  that  ?  I  think  it  is  because  God  says,  it  shall  not  be  by  any  earthly  power. 
And  I  will  also  say  that,  whenever  God  is  pleased  to  raise  up  a  man  by  individual  power  to  move  the 
world,  or  to  work  any  reform.  He  invariably  selects  one  whose  faults  and  whose  errors  are  so  glaring 
and  apparent  to  everyone,  that  we  are  obliged  to  say,  "  1  wonder  that  man  should  do  it ;  surely  it  must 
be  of  God,  it  could  not  be  of  the  man  himself. "  No,  there  are  some  men  who  are  too  great  for  God's 
designs,  their  style  is  too  e.xcellent.  If  God  blessed  them,  the  world  would  cry, — especially  the  literary 
world, — it  is  their  talent  that  God  blesses  ;  but  God,  on  the  other  hand,  takes  up  some  rough  fellow,  and 
just  shakes  the  whole  world  by  him.  People  say,  "We  do  not  see  how  it  is,  it  is  certainly  not  in  the 
man."  The  critic  takes  up  his  pen,  dips  it  in  gall,  writes  a  most  fearful  character  about  the  preacher ; 
he  reads  it,  and  says,  "  It  is  quite  true,  and  I  am  glad  of  it,  for  if  it  had  not  been  true,  God  would  not 
have  used  me.  I  glory  in  my  infirmities,  because  Christ's  own  power  rests  on  me.  If  I  had  not  those 
weaknesses,  so  much  could  not  have  been  done  ;  but  the  very  infirmities  have  insured  me  against  men's 
saying,  '  It  was  the  man.'  "  I  have  often  been  delighted  at  some  of  my  opponents ;  they  have  sneered 
at  everything  in  me, — from  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  sole  of  my  foot,  I  have  been  all  over  bruises  and 
putrefying  sores; — every  word  has  been  vulgarity,  every  action  has  been  grotesque,  the  whole  of  it  has 
been  abominable  and  blasphemous  ;  and  I  have  said,  "  'Well,  that  is  delightful ; "  and  while  some 
persons  have  said,  "Now  we  must  defend  our  minister,"  I  have  thought,  "You  had  better  let  it  alone; 
for  suppose  it  is  true, — and  it  is,  the  most  of  it, — there  is  all  the  more  glory  to  God  ;  for  who  can  deny 
that  the  work  is  done?"  And  he  is  a  great  workman  that  can  use  bad  tools,  and  yet  produce  a  fine 
piece  of  workmanship ;  and  if  the  conversion  of  hundreds  of  souls  now  present,  if  the  sobriety  of 
drunkards,  if  the  chastity  of  harlots,  if  the  salvation  of  men  who  have  been  swearers,  blasphemers, 
thieves,  and  vagabonds  from  their  youth  up,  is  not  a  grand  result,  I  do  not  know  what  is.  And  if  I 
have  been  the  unwieldy,  uncouth,  unworthy  tool  employed  in  doing  it,  I  bless  God,  for  then  you  cannot 
honour  me,  but  must  give  all  the  glory  to  Him,  and  to  Him  all  the  glory  belongs.  He  will  have  it 
proved  that  it  is  "  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  My  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts." — C.  H.  S.,  in 
sermon  pre%ched  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall,  August  31,  1857. 

Q2 


242 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


N  Chapter  L.,  mention  was  made  of  the  cruel  and  libellous  articles 
which  appeared  in  various  newspapers  after  the  great  catastrophe 
at  the  Music  Hall,  and  extracts  from  two  of  them  were  given  as 
specimens  of  the  rest.  There  were  other  secular  papers  which 
published  more  favourable  comments,  one  of  the  first  being  The 
Evening  Star,  November  5.  1856,  which  said: — 
"  Other  questions  than  that  of  the  structure  of  the  building,  or  the  self- 
protection  of  the  startled  assemblage,  are  raised  by  the  Surrey  Gardens  calamity. 
The  vocation  of  the  preacher,  and  the  secret  of  his  power,  are  brought  by  it  within 
the  range  of  every  man's  thoughts,  and,  therefore,  of  newspaper  discussion.  The 
worldly-minded  are  forced  to  reflect  on  the  nature  of  an  institution  which  survives 
the  most  sweeping  changes,  defies  alike  persecution  and  rivalry,  and  is  no  less 
conspicuous  in  this  nineteenth  century,  to  which  the  press  and  platform  are  almost 
peculiar,  than  in  the  twelfth  or  sixteenth,  when  the  altar  and  the  pulpit  had  no 
competitors  but  in  the  throne.  The  devout,  moreover,  who  prefer  to  think  of  all 
religious  e.xercises  as  more  or  less  supernatural,  and  the  result  of  direct  or  indirect 
inspiration  from  on  high,  are  compelled  to  observe  the  very  different  operations  of 
the  same  Divine  Spirit  working  through  different  human  instrumentalities  ;  so  that, 
while  a  host  of  good,  and  perhaps  able  men,  are  discoursing  from  Scripture  te.xts  to 
their  few  hundreds  of  hearers  each,  one — and  he  a  comparatively  untrained  youth — 
draws  the  multitude  by  ten  and  fifteen  thousand  at  a  time,  and  is  even  besought  to 
continue  his  preaching  while  the  dead  and  wounded  are  being  carried  from  the  doors 
of  the  meeting-house. 

"  No  one  can  go  into  a  well-filled  church,  or  into  the  majority  of  chapels,  without 
being  tempted  to  ask, — 'Where  are  the  poor.-*'  Preacher  and  hearers  are  alike 
emphatically  of  the  middle  class.  The  grey-headed,  white-neckclothed,  and 
otherwise  respectable-looking  men,  in  conspicuous  seats,  are  prosperous  traders, 
lawyers,  or  doctors.  The  younger  fathers  of  families  are  clerks  or  shopkeepers.  A 
few  Sunday-school  teachers,  unmarried  shopmen  and  clerks,  make  up  the  males  of 
the  congregation.  The  female  portion  greatly  preponderate  in  number,  are  almost 
exclusively  connections  of  the  before-mentioned  ;  though,  here  and  there,  is  some 
solitary  wife  or  widowed  mother,  who  has  slipped  away  from  a  penurious  home  to 
snatch  consolation  from  the  lips  that  speak  of  Heaven.  But  where  are  the  artizan 
classes, — that  keen-eyed,  strong-minded  race,  who  crowd  the  floor  at  political  meetings 
or  cheap  concerts,  fill  the  minor  theatres,  and  struggle  into  the  shilling  gallery  of  the 
Lyceum  or  Princess's  ?  So  very  scanty  is  their  attendance  upon  the  most  noted 
preachers,  that  it  is  their  adhesion  to  Mr.  Spurgeon  which  has  made  that  gentleman 
a  prodigy  and  a  phenomenon.  The  first  that  we  heard  of  him,  two  or  three 
years  since,    was  that   the   Bankside   labourers   went   to   hear  him   on   Sundays  and 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  243 

week-nights.  The  summer  before  last,  we  found  the  artizans  of  Bethnal  Green — a 
much  more  fastidious  race — flocking  round  him  in  a  field  at  Hackney.  And  in  the 
list  of  the  killed  and  wounded  at  the  Music  Hall,  are  journeymen  painters,  tanners, 
and  milliners'  girls.      It  is  worth  while  to  ask  the  reason  why. 

"A  single  hearing  is  sufficient  to  answer  the  question, — supposing  the  hearer 
can  also  see.  There  never  yet  was  a  popular  orator  who  did  not  talk  more 
and  better  with  his  arms  than  with  his  tongue.  Mr.  Spurgeon  knows  this 
instinctively.  When  he  has  read  his  text,  he  does  not  fasten  his  eyes  on  a 
manuscript,  and  his  hands  to  a  cushion.  As  soon  as  he  begins  to  speak,  he  begins 
to  act, — and  that  not  as  if  declaiming  on  the  stage,  but  as  if  conversing  with  you  in 
the  street.  He  seems  to  shake  hands  with  all  around,  and  put  everyone  at  his  ease. 
There  is  no  laboured  exordium,  making  you  wonder  by  what  ingenious  winding  he  will 
get  back  to  his  subject  ;  but  a  trite  saying,  an  apt  quotation,  a  simple  allegory,  one 
or  two  familiar  sentences,  making  all  who  hear  feel  interested  and  at  home.  Then 
there  is  no  philosophical  pomp  of  exposition, — but  just  two  or  three  catch-words, 
rather  to  guide  than  to  confine  attention.  Presently  comes,  by  way  of  illustration,  a 
gleam  of  humour, — perhaps  a  stroke  of  downright  vulgarity, — it  may  be,  a  wretched 
pun.  The  people  are  amused,  but  they  are  not  left  at  liberty  to  laugh.  The 
preacher's  comedy  does  but  light  up  his  solemn  earnestness.  He  is  painting  some 
scene  of  death-bed  remorse,  or  of  timely  repentance  ;  some  Magdalene's  forgiveness, 
or  some  prodigal's  return.  His  colours  are  taken  from  the  earth  and  sky  of  common 
human  experience  and  aspiration.  He  dips  his  pencil,  so  to  speak,  in  the  veins  of 
the  nearest  spectator,  and  makes  his  work  a  part  of  every  man's  nature.  His  images 
are  drawn  from  the  homes  of  the  common  people,  the  daily  toil  for  daily  bread,  the 
nightly  rest  of  tired  labour,  the  mother's  love  for  a  wayward  boy,  the  father's 
tenderness  to  a  sick  daughter.  His  anecdotes  are  not  far-fetched,  they  have  a 
natural  pathos.  He  tells  how  some  despairing  unfortunate,  hastening  with  her  last 
penny  to  the  suicide's  bridge,  was  stopped  by  the  sound  of  psalmody,  and  turned  into 
his  chapel  ;  or  how  some  widow's  son,  running  away  from  his  mother's  home,  was 
brought  back  by  the  recollection  of  a  prayer,  and  sits  now  in  that  pew.  l^e  does  not 
narrate  occurrences,  but  describes  them,  with  a  rough,  graphic  force  and  faithfulness. 
He  does  not  reason  out  his  doctrines,  but  announces,  explains,  and  applies  them. 
He  ventures  a  political  allusion,  and  it  goes  right  to  the  democratic  heart.  In  the 
open  air,  someone  may  interrupt  or  interrogate,  and  the  response  is  a  new  eft'ect. 
In  short,  this  man  preaches  Christianity — his  Christianity,  at  any  rate, — as  Ernest 
Jones  preaches  Chartism,  and  as  Gough  preaches  temperance.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  he  meets  with  like  success  .''  Or  is  he  either  to  be  blamed  or  scorned  ?  Let  it 
first  be  remembered  that  Latimer  was  not  less  homely  when  he  preached  before  the 
king, — nor  South  less  humorous  when  he  cowed    Rochester, — nor  Whitefield  less 


244  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 

declamatory  when  he  moved  Hume  and  Franklin, — nor  Rowland  Hill  less  vulgar, 
though  brother  to  a  baronet.  To  us,  it  appears  that  dulness  is  the  worst  fault 
possible  to  a  man  whose  first  business  it  is  to  interest, — that  the  dignity  of  the 
pulpit  is  best  consulted  by  making  it  attractive, — and  that  the  clergy  of  all 
denominations  might  get  some  frequent  hints  for  the  composition  of  their  sermons 
^    from  the  young  Baptist  preacher  who  never  went  to  College." 

Soon  after  the  services  were  resumed  at  the  Music  Hall,  a  correspondent 
of  The  Sim  newspaper  wrote  : — "  If  what  we  heard,  last  Sunday,  be  a  specimen 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  usual  preaching,  there  was  certainly  nothing  at  all  more 
extravagant  than  would  be  heard  from  most  of  the  Evangelical  clergymen  and 
Dissenting"  preachers  in  the  country.  There  were  no  outrageous  descriptions  of 
Divine  anger  and  future  punishment,  nor  any  wiredrawn  refinements  on  the 
theology  of  repentance.  His  statements  on  the  latter  point  were  characterized  by 
remarkable  common  sense  ;  they  were  forcibly  expressed  and  illustrated,  as  were 
his  arguments  for  the  necessity  of  repentance.  Indeed,  there  was  little  in  which 
preachers  of  all  creeds  would  not  have  concurred.  His  voice  is  a  noble  one, 
filling  the  whole  place  with  the  greatest  ease  ;  at  the  further  end  of  the  building, 
we  did  not  miss  a  syllable.  His  manner  was  perfectly  unrestrained,  but  not 
irreverent.  His  command  of  language  is  very  considerable,  but  does  not  lead 
him,  for  an  extempore  speaker,  into  verbosity.  His  style  is  unfettered,  homely, 
forcible,  and  abounds  in  pointed  remarks.  There  was  a  total  absence  of  anything 
humorous  or  ludicrous.  The  secret  of  his  popularity,  taking  last  Sunday  as  a 
specimen,  appeared  to  us  to  be  something  very  different. 
y  "  It  was  impossible  not  to  feel  that  the  preacher  was  absorbed,  not  in  himself, 
but  in  his  audience.  The  formal  separation  of  the  pulpit  did  not  separate  him 
from  his  hearers.  He  conversed  with  them,  he  was  one  of  them.  He  did  not 
lecture  them  ex  cathedra,  or  indulge  in  disquisitions  or  topics  out  of  their  line 
of  thought ;  but  spoke  with  them  as  he  would  have  done  on  a  solemn  subject 
in  their  own  houses.  Most  of  our  pulpits  'die  of  dignity;'  but,  while  there 
was  nothing  unbecoming  on  Sunday,  the  preacher  placed  himself  on  a  level  with 
all.  Of  course,  a  vivid  fancy,  and  considerable  powers  of  e.xpression,  aided  by  a 
first-rate  voice,  will  account  for  much  ;  but  we  think  what  we  have  pointed  out 
was  the  chief  reason  why,  among  so  many  thousands  of  hearers,  we  could  not 
— and  we  looked  carefully — detect  a  single  sleeper. 

"  Our  more  dignified  preachers  might  study  with  advantage  the  phenomenon 

^,  of  this  youth's  popularity.      We  can  only  say  that,  for  our  part,  his  manner  disarmed 

criticism,    and   we   could    think   only   of  his   probable   usefulness    to   the   thousands 

present    who,    we    are    confident,    by    their    appearance,    are    not    listeners    to    our 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  245 

customary  pulpit  prosaics.  Lord  Chief  Justice  Campbell,  with  his  son;  was  present 
on  the  platform,  and  seemed  to  take  the  same  view  with  ourselves  ;  he  remarked 
several  times  to  one  of  the  managers,  after  the  service,  in  our  hearing,  and  also 
to  Sir  Richard  Mayne  (Commissioner  of  Police),  who  was  likewise  present,  '  He 
is  doing  great  good,  sir, — great  good.'  London  could  find  room  for  twenty  such 
preachers  ;  they  are  just  what  the  populace  needs." 

Dr.  John  Campbell  reprinted  the  foregoing  letter  in  The  BritisJi  Banner, 
and  added  the  following  remarks  : — 

"  Such  a  testimony,  from  such  a  quarter,  possesses  a  special  value,  and  the 
deliberate  language  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England  will  be  duly  estimated 
wherever  it  shall  be  read.  There  is  no  living  man  from  whom  a  ranting,  raving 
enthusiast  would  have  so  much  to  fear.  A  better  judge  of  teaching,  or  preaching, 
or  eloquence,  than-  Lord  Campbell,  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  The  friends  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon,  therefore,  may  congratulate  themselves  on  having  anticipated  the 
decision   of  this   great  legal   luminary." 

The  famous  Greville  Memoirs  contain  the  following  record  relating  to  the 
period  now  under  consideration  : — "8th  February,  1857. — I  have  just  come  from  hear- 
ing the  celebrated  Mr.  Spurgeon  preach  in  the  Music  Hall  of  the  Surrey  Gardens. 
It  was  quite  full.  He  told  us  from  the  pulpit  that  there  were  9,000  persons  present. 
The  service  was  like  the  Presbyterian, — psalms,  prayer,  expounding  a  Psalm,  and  a 
sermon.  He  is  certainly  very  remarkable;  and,  undeniably,  a  fine  character; — not 
remarkable  in  person  ;  in  face,  rather  resembling  a  smaller  Macaulay  ; — a  very 
clear  and  powerful  voice,  which  was  heard  through  the  hall  ;  a  manner  natural, 
impassioned,  and  without  affectation  or  extravagance  ;  wonderful  fluency  and 
command  of  language,  abounding  in  illustration,  and  very  often  of  a  very  familiar 
kind,  but  without  anything  either  ridiculous  or  irreverent.  He  gave  me  an 
impression  of  his  earnestness  and  sincerity  ;  speaking  without  book  or  notes,  yet 
his  discourse  was  evidently  very  carefully  prepared.  The  text  was,  '  Cleanse  Thou 
me  from  secret  faults,'  and  he  divided  it  into  heads, — the  misery,  the  folly,  the 
danger  (and  a  fourth,  which  I  have  forgotten,)  of  secret  sins,  in  all  of  which  he 
was  very  eloquent  and  impressive.  He  preached  for  about  three-quarters  of  an 
hour;  and,  to  judge  "by  the  use  of  the  handkerchiefs  and  the  audible  sobs,  with 
great  effect." 

The  letter  on  pages  247  and  248  was  published  in  The  Times,  April  13,  1857. 
Mr.  .Spurgeon  thought  it  was  worthy  of  preservation,  for  it  came  from  the  pen  of  a 
learned  professor,   and  did  much  to  turn  the  tide  of  public  opinion  in  his  favour. 


C.      H.     sturgeon's     AUTOBIOGRArHY 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  247 

"  Preaching    and   Preaching. 
"  To  the  Editor  of  The   Times, 

"  Sir, — One   Sunday   morning,    about    a    month    ago,    my    wife    said,    '  Let    us 

send  the   children    to    St.   Margaret's,    to    hear    the    Archbishop  of preach  on 

behalf  of  the  Society  of  Aged  Ecclesiastical  Cripples,  which  is  to  celebrate  to- 
day its  three  hundredth  anniversary.'  So  the  children  went,  though  the  parents, 
for    reasons    immaterial    to    mention,    could    not    go    with    them.      '  Well,    children, 

how  did  you    like    the    Archbishop    of ,    and    what    did    he    say    about    "  the 

Aged  Ecclesiastical  Cripples"?'  Here  the  children — for  it  was  during  their 
dinner, — attacked  their  food  with  great  voracity  ;  but  never  a  word  could  we 
get  out  of  their  mouths  about  the  spiritual  feast  of  which  they  had  just  partaken. 
No  !  not  even  the  text  could  they  bring  out.  The  more  they  were  pressed,  the 
more  they  blushed,  and  hung  their  heads  over  their  plates,  until,  at  last,  in  a  rage, 
I  accused  them  of  having  fallen  asleep  during  the  service.  This  charge  threw 
my  first-born  on  his  defence,  and  he  sobbed  out  the  truth,  for,  by  this  time,  their 
eyes    were    full    of  tears.     '  Why,    papa !    we    can't    say    what    the    Archbishop    of 

said,   because  we  could    not    hear    a    word.      He    is    very    old,    and    has    got 

no  teeth  ;  and,  do  you  know,  I  don't  think  he  has  got  any  tongue  either,  for,  though 
we  saw  his  lips  moving,  we  could  not  hear  a  single  word.'  On  this  I  said  no  more, 
but  I  thought  a  good  deal  of  '  the  Aged  Ecclesiastical  Cripples,'  and  their  venerable 
advocate,  and,  being  something  of  a  philologist,  I  indulged  in  dreamy  speculations 
on  the  possibility  of  an  alphabet  composed  entirely  of  labials  ;  and  if  my  wife  had 
not  roused  me  from  my  dream  by  some  mere  matter-of-fact  question,  I  almost  think 
I  should  have  given  my  reflections  to  the  world  in  the  shape  of  a  small  pamphlet 
entitled,  '  The  Language  of  Labials  ;  or,  how  to  preach  sermons  without  the  aid  of 
either  tongue  or  teeth  ;  published  for  the  benefit  of  the  Society  of  Aged  Ecclesiastical 

Cripples,  and  dedicated,  of  course  by  permission,  to  the  Archbishop  of .' 

"  Now  listen  to  another  story.  A  friend  of  mine,  a  Scotch  Presbyterian,  comes 
up  to  town,  and  says,  '  I  want  to  hear  Spurgeon  ;  let  us  go.'  Now,  I  am  supposed 
to  be  a  High  Churchman,  so  1  answered,  'What!  go  and  hear  a  Calvinist,— a 
Baptist, — a  man  who  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  himself  for  being  so  near  the  Church, 
and  yet  not  within  its  pale?'  '  Never  mind,  come  and  hear  him.'  Well,  we  went 
yesterday  morning  to  the  Music  Hall  in  the  Surrey  Gardens.  At  first,  I  felt  a 
strange  sensation  of  wrong-doing.  It  was  something  like  going  to  a  mornmg 
theatrical  performance  on  Sunday  ;  nor  did  a  terrific  gust  of  wind  (which  sent  the 
Arctic  Regions,  erected  out  of  laths  and  pasteboard  in  a  style  regardless  of  expense, 
flying  across  the  water  of  the  lake,)  tend  to  cheer  a  mind  depressed  by  the  novelty 
of  the  scene.  Fancy  a  congregation,  consisting  of  ten  thousand  souls,  streammg 
into  the  hall,  mounting  the  galleries,  humming,  buzzing,  and  swarming, — a  mighty 


240  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

hive  of  bees, — eager  to  secure  at  first  the  best  places,  and  at  last,  any  place  at  all. 
After  waiting  more  than  half-an-hour, — for  if  you  wish  to  have  a  seat,  you  must  be 
there  at  least  that  space  of  time  in  advance, — Mr.  Spurgeon  ascended  the  tribune. 
To  the  hum,  and  rush,  and  trampling  of  men,  succeeded  a  low,  concentrated  thrill 
and  murmur  of  devotion,  which  seemed  to  run  at  once,  like  an  electric  current,  through 
the  breast  of  everyone  present  ;  and  by  this  magnetic  chain,  the  preacher  held  us 
fast  bound  for  about  two  hours.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  a  summary  of  his 
discourse.  It  is  enough  to  say  of  his  voice,  that  its  power  and  volume  are  sufficient 
to  reach  everyone  in  that  vast  assembly  ;  of  his  language,  that  it  is  neither  high-flown 
nor  homely  ;  of  his  style,  that  it  is  at  times  familiar,  at  times  declamatory,  but  always 
happy,  and  often  eloquent  ;  of  his  doctrine,  that  neither  the  Calvinist  nor  the  Baptist 
appears  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  which  is  waged  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  with  relentless 
animosity,  and  with  gospel  weapons,  against  irreligion,  cant,  hypocrisy,  pride,  and 
those  secret  bosom  sins  which  so  easily  beset  a  man  in  daily  life  ;  and  to  sum  up  all 
in  a  word,  it  is  enough  to  say  of  the  man  himself  that  he  impresses  you  with  a 
perfect  conviction  of  his  sincerity. 

"  But   I   have  not  written  so  much  about  my  children's  want  of  spiritual   food 

when   they   listened   to    the    mumbling  of   the   Archbishop    of  ,  and    my    own 

banquet  at  the  Surrey  Gardens,  without  a  desire  to  draw  a  practical  conclusion  from 
these  two  stories,  and  to  point  them  by  a  moral.  Here  is  a  mannot  more  Calvinistic 
than  many  an  incumbent  of  the  Established  Church,  who  '  humbles  and  mumbles,' 
as  old  Latimer  says,  over  his  liturgy  and  te.xt.  Here  is  a  man  who  says  the  complete 
immersion,  or  something  of  the  kind,  of  adults  is  necessary  to  baptism.  These  are 
his  faults  of  doctrine  ;  but,  if  I   were  the   examining  chaplain  of  the  Archbishop  of 

,    I   would    say,    '  May   it   please   your  Grace,   here  is    a-  man    able    to    preach 

eloquently,  able  to  fill  the  largest  church  in  England  with  his  voice,  and,  what  is  more 
to  the  purpose,  with  people.  And  may  it  please  your  Grace,  here  are  two  churches 
in  the  metropolis,  St.  Paul's  and  Westminster  Abbey.  What  does  your  Grace  think 
of  inviting  Mr.  Spurgeon,  this  heretical  Calvinist  and  Baptist,  who  is  able  to  draw 
ten  thousand  souls  after  him,  just  to  try  his  voice,  some  Sunday  morning,  in  the  nave 
of  either  of  those  churches  ?  At  any  rate,  I  will  answer  for  one  thing  that,  if  he 
preaches  in  Westminster  Abbey,  we  shall  not  have  a  repetition  of  the  disgraceful 
practice,  now  common  in  tha,t  church,  of  having  the  sermon  bcfoi-e  the  anthem,  in 
order  that  those  who  would  quit  the  church  when  the  arid  sermon  begins,  may  be 
forced  to  stay  it  out  for  the  sake  of  the  music  which  follows  it.'      But  I  am  not,  I  am 

sorry  to  say,  examining  chaplain  to  the  Archbishop  of ,  so  I  can  only  send  you 

this  letter  from  the  devotional  desert  in  which  I  reside,  and  sign  myself, — 

"  Habitans  in  Sicco." 
"  Broad   Phylactery,   Westminster." 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  249 

The  Times,  of  the  same  date,  had  the  following  leading  article  upon  the  letter  : — 
"  Society,  like  the  private  individual,  has  its  grievances, — certain  old-established 
sores,  any  allusion  to  which  is  sure  to  excite  general  sympathy  in  all  companies.  The 
extortions  of  cabmen,  inn  charges,  rates  and  taxes, — any  reference  to  these  veteran 
impositions  kindles  a  spark  of  genial  hostility  in  every  circle.  Everyone  has  had  his 
particular  collision  with  these  offensive  claims,  and  has  his  story  to  tell.  Those 
compositions  called  sermons  belong  to  this  class  of  veteran  grievances.  An  allusion 
to  them  will  revive  a  drooping  conversation,  and  awaken  a  spirit  of  rebellion  in  every 
breast.  Everybody  has  suffered  from  this  quarter,  and  a  long  vista  of  recollection 
opens  out  before  every  eye  the  retrospect  of  a  yoke  long  borne, — the  image  of  yourself 
sitting  in  a  pew  or  stall  after  or  before  an  anthem,  with  a  look  of  calm  resignation, 
which  vaguely  betrays,  however,  the  general  impression  that  something  or  other — 
we  do  not  say  what, — will  be  over  in  half-an-hour,  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  or 
•  even  an  hour  from  the  present  moment.  A  series  of  tableaux,  representing  yourself 
in  formal  relations  with  a  sounding-board,  is  produced  by  the  machinery  of  the  brain. 
The  relation  is  one  of  temporary  subjugation.  There  are  one  or  two  others  near 
you  with  the  same  mixed  expression  that  you  have  yourself,  indicative  of  transient 
and  bearable  adversity.  The  sky  is  lowering  overhead,  but  the  horizon  is  clear.  We 
will  not  call  this  '  smiling  at  grief,'  because,  to  say  the  truth,  the  attitude  of  the  figures 
is  rather  too  comfortable  to  be  sentimental.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  what  sympathy 
the  same  pictorial  representation  pervading  the  whole  company  creates.  '  A  fellow- 
feeling  makes  us  wondrous  kind.'  It  is,'  indeed,  curious  to  observe  the  extraordinary 
difficulty  which  some  of  our  most  respectable  writers — nay,  our  ablest  moralists, — 
seem  to  have  had  in  encountering  this  particular  ordeal.  Dr.  Johnson  repented, 
most  sincerely  and  devoutly,  but  still  annually,  over  his  very  rare  use  of  this  o-reat 
opportunity  and  privilege.  We  hardly  know  whether  it  is  fair  to  notice  the  same 
delinquency  in  the  valetudinarian  Coleridge.  Certainly,  to  hear  the  remarks  that  are 
generally  made,  a  good  preacher  does  seem  to  be  a  very  rare  production,  and  to 
require  the  lantern  of  Diogenes  to  discover  him.  The  fact  of  the  excessive  dulness 
of  sermons  being  indeed  taken  for  granted,  people  are  lost  in  perplexity  how  to 
account  for  it.  Do  the  Canons  require  it  ?  Do  the  Bishops  enjoin  it  ^  The  evil  is 
altogether  mysterious,  and  broods  over  the  public  like  a  nightmare.  Its  orioin,  like 
that  of  the  source  of  the  Nile,  is  unknown.  Is  it  the  result  of  volcanic  influences.'^ 
Will  the  same  discovery  explain  it  that  will,  some  day,  explain  the  phenomenon  of 
the  tides  ?  Or  does  the  enigma  await  a  meteorological  solution  .''  There  appears 
also  to  be'  something  mysterious  in  the  sensations  ot  the  sufferers.  Lanouaoe  can 
give  the  superficial  characteristics  of  what  is  experienced,  but  there  seems  to  be 
something  at  the  bottom  which  is  indescribable.  In  fact,  the  whole  thing  is  very 
mysterious,  and  we  feel  out  of  our  depth  when  we  attempt  to  nenetrate  it  anaKtically. 


250  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

But,  as  metaphysicians  say,  the  facts  of  consciousness  in  this  department  are  plain  ; 
and,  so  long  as  we  keep  quite  close  to  them,  we  feel  ourselves  tolerably  safe. 

"  Now,  undoubtedly,  preachers  have  something  to  say  on  their  side  of  the 
question.  As  a  class  of  public  exhibitors,  they  labour  under  peculiar  difficulties. 
For  example,  a  good  lecture  and  a  good  theatrical  piece  can  be  repeated,  and  we 
have  Mr  Albert  Smith  and  The  Corsican  Brotlicrs  night  after  night.  But  a  good 
sermon  has  only  one  existence.  It  goes  off  like  a  rocket,  and  disappears  for  ever. 
The  preacher  cannot  advertise  a  second  delivery.  If  it  takes  place,  it  is  by  stealth. 
But  success  is  not  so  frequent  that  it  can  afford  this  waste  and  extravagance  without 
serious  results.  In  other  departments,  the  failures  escape  notice,  because  they  are 
merely  tentative,  and  are  withdrawn  as  soon  as  they  are  discovered  not  to  take,  while 
one  good  hit  is  hammered  for  months  running  into  the  public  mind.  In  the  case  of 
sermons,  good  and  bad  are  on  the  same  exhibitory  level,  and  human  nature  is  pinned 
forcibly  to  its  average  mark. 

"  The  reputation,  however,  of  this  class  of  compositions  being  thus  low,  it  is 
not  surprising  if  the  sudden  phenomenon  of  a  monster  preacher  excites  some 
astonishment;  and  if  our  correspondent,  '  Habitans  in  Sicco,'  regrets  that  the  Church 
has  not  the  benefit  of  similar  services,  it  is  quite  natural  to  ask  why  should  such 
demonstrations  be  confined  to  Dissent  ?  Why  cannot  the  Church  have  a  monster 
preacher  drawing  his  crowds  ? 

"  Physically  speaking,  there  can  be  no  reason  why  the  Church  should  not  have, 
at  any  rate  once  or  twice  in  a  generation,  a  natural  orator  in  its  clerical  ranks 
endowed  with  a  voice  as  loud  as  Mr.  Spurgeon's  ;  and,  if  she  has,  there  can  be  no 
cogent  reason  why  she  should  not  use  him.  A  loud  voice  is  a  decided  gift,  an 
endowment  ;  it  may  be  thrown  away  in  the  prodigality  of  nature  upon  a  man  who 
has  no  purpose  to  turn  it  to,  no  thought  to  utter  from  that  splendid  organ  ;  upon  a 
man,  in  fact,  who  is  a  mere  pompous  Stentor  in  a  pulpit  ;  but  give  it  to  one  who  has 
thought  and  a  purpose,  and  see  the  effect.  It.  collects  a  crowd  to  listen,  but  that  is 
only  the  first  step.  Another  crowd  comes  because  there  is  a  crowd  to  begin  with, 
and  a  third  follows  the  second.  But  this  is  not  all.  A  multitude  listens  with  a 
different  feeling  to  a  speaker  from  that  with  which  a  roomful  of  people  or  a  churchful 
of  people  listen,  for  the  multitude  feels  itself  a  multitude  ;  it  is  conscious  of  its 
numbers,  and  every  individual  partakes  in  some  degree  the  gigantic  vibrations  of  the 
mass.  The  addition  of  power  which  is  .thus  gained  is  immense  ;  and,  therefore, 
how  is  it  that  the  Church  never  has  a  monster  preacher  ? 

"  The  reason  is,  that  a  loud  voice  requires  its  proper  material  to  exert  itself 
upon.  The  voice  is  notoriously  the  most  sympathetic  thing  in 'nature.  It  cannot  be 
loud  and  soft  indiscriminately.  Some  things  are  made  to  be  shouted,  and  others  to 
be   whispered.       Nobody   shouts   out  an   axiom   in   mathematics  ;    nobody   balances 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  25 1 

probabilities  in  thunder, — Nemo  consiliuin  ami  claiuore  dat.  There  must  be  a  strong 
sentiment,  some  bold  truth,  to  make  a  man  shout.  In  religion,  there  must  be  some- 
thing rather  extravagant  in  the  shape  of  doctrine.  The  doctrine  of  sudden  conversion 
or  of  irresistible  grace  can  be  shouted  ;  but  if  a  man  tried  ever  so  hard  to  shout  in 
delivering  a  moderate  and  sensible  discourse  on  free-will,  he  would  find  himself 
talking  quiedy  in  spite  of  himself  A  loud  voice,  then,  must  have  '  loud '  doctrine 
to  develop  it.  But  the  Church  of  England  has  rather  a  distaste  for  'loud  '  doctrine  ; 
her  general  standard  is  opposed  to  it,  her  basis  is  a  balanced  one,  mixing  opposite 
truths,  and  qualifying  what  she  teaches  with  judicious  protests  and  disclaimers. 
She  preaches  Catholicity  with  a  protest  against  Rome,  and  Protestantism  with  a 
protest  against  Geneva.  This  is  very  sensible,  and  very  true  ;  but  it  is  not  favour- 
able to  popular  preaching.  Of  the  two  parties  into  which  she  is  divided,  one  thinks 
it  wrong  to  shout,  as  being  against  the  principle  of  reverence.  This  school  specially 
contrasts  itself  in  this  respect  with  '  the  rude  world,'  which  is  supposed  to  be  always 
shouting,  and  doing  everything  that  is  noisy  and  vulgar,  and  with  heretics  who  are 
audacious  and  immodest  ;  and  it  plumes  itself  on  its  refinement  and  good  taste  in 
the  delivery  of  religious  truth,  which  it  thinks  ought  to  be  done  in  a  sort  of  veiled 
and  fragmentary  way,  so  as  to  reach  the  sensitive  ears  of  the  good,  and  pass  over 
those  of  the  profane.  All  this  is  very  excellent  and  refined,  but  it  is  against  popular 
■preaching.  So  much  for  one  party.  The  other  party  might  speak  loud  if  it  liked; 
it  has  no  theory  against  it,  and  its  doctrines  admit  of.it,  but  it  does  not  like  the 
trouble.  And,  besides,  this  party,  though  it  professedly  holds  strong  doctrine, 
practically  tempers  it  considerably,  and  bends  to  the  moderate  standard  of  the 
Church.  Thus,  what  with  the  fear  of  criticism,  the  deference  to  a  recognized  standard, 
idleness,  reverence,  and  a  great  many  other  things, — what  with  some  thinking  it 
heretical  to  shout,  and  others  thinking  it  unpolite  to  be  popular, — there  is  no 
monster  preaching  in  the  English  Church.  It  does  certainly  admit  of  a  question 
whether,  in  our  general  policy,  we  are  not  over-cautious,  and  gain  greater  theoretical 
correctness  at  the  cost  of  much  practical  efficiency.  It  admits  of  a  question  whether 
a  little  extravagance  and  a  little  onesidedness  might  not  be  tolerated  for  the  sake 
of  a  good,  substantial,  natural,  telling  appeal  to  the  human  heart.  We  should  have 
no  objection,  for  our  part,  to  an  Evangelical  clergyman,  with  a  strong  voice,  doing 
what  Mr.  Spurgeon  does.  The  doctrines  of  the  two  are  in  reality  much  the  same; 
and,  that  being  the  case,  why  should  fear  of  criticism  prevent  the  Evangelical  school 
from  making  themselves  as  effective  as  they  can  ?  But  such  is  the  influence  of  a 
conventional  standard,  which,  like  conscience,  'makes  cowards  of  us  all.'  " 

The  British   QuaTterly  Review,  June,  1857,  contained  a  long  article,  of  which 
the  following  were  the  opening  and  closing  paragraphs  :  — 


252  c.    h.    spurgeon  s   autobiography. 

"  Charles  Spurgeon  and  the  Pulpit. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  a  notability.  He  filled  Exeter  Hall  with  eager  listeners 
for  months  together.  He  has  since  done  the  same  in  the  great  Music  Hall  of  the 
Surrey  Gardens,  though  spacious  enough  to  receive  9,000  persons.  Hitherto,  the 
prophets  have  been  in  the  wrong.  The  feeling  does  not  subside.  The  crowds 
gather  even  more  than  before.  The  '  common  people '  are  there,  as  at  the  first ; 
but  with  them  there  are  now  many  who  are  of  a  much  higher  grade.  Professional 
men,  senatorial  men,  ministers  of  state,  and  peers  of  the  realm,  are  among 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  auditory.  These  are  facts  that  cannot  be  questioned.  That 
there  is  something  very  extraordinary  in  them,  everyone  must  feel.  How  is  the 
matter  to  be  explained  .-*... 

"  We  believe  that,  to  explain  the  fact  presented  in  the  Sunday  meetings  at 
the  Surrey  Gardens,  we  must  go  beyond  the  personal  as  found  in  the  preacher, 
beyond  the  scheme  of  truth  which  he  propounds, — and  we  must  rest  in  nothing 
short  of  the  Divine  hand  itself.  The  All-wise  has  often  worked  by  instruments, 
and  in  ways  which  would  seem  to  have  been  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  mock  of  the  world's  wisdom.  He  did  so  when  he  founded  Christianity, — He 
may  do  much  like  it  again. 

"  Certainly,  a  choice  rebuke  has  been  administered  to  a  course  of  speculation 
which  has  become  somewhat  rife  among  us  of  late,  especially  among  parties  who 
account  themselves  as  belonging  to  the  far  seeing  of  their  generation.  It  has  come 
to  be  very  much  in  fashion,  with  some  persons,  to  speak  of  all  things  connected 
with  religion  as  beset  with  great  difficulty  and  mystery.  On  all  such  questions, 
we  are  told,  there  must  be  two  sides  ;  and  the  negative  side,  it  is  said,  is  generally 
much  more  formidable  than  is  commonly  imagined.  It  is  assumed,  accordingly, 
that,  to  be  in  a  state  of  some  hesitancy  and  doubt,  is  the  sign  of  intelligence,  while 
to  be  positive,  very  sure  about  anything,  is  the  sign  of  a  vulgar  and  shallow  mind. 
Our  people  are  said  to  be  familiar  with  phrases  about  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
but  with  little  more.  They  may  become  bigots  in  their  conceit  on  such  subjects, 
and  know  nothing.  Educated  men  now  must  not  be  expected  to  be  content  with 
phrases,  or  with  assertions.  The  preacher,  in  consequence,  owes  it  to  himself  to 
deal  with  matters  much  otherwise  than  formerly.  To  insist  on  the  authority  of 
Scripture  now,  as  in  past  times,  it  is  said,  would  be  in  vain.  To  set  forth  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel  now  as  formerly,  would  be  wasted  labour.  The  preacher 
must  be  more  considerate,  more  candid,  more  forbearing.  He  must  acquit  himself 
with  more  intelligence,  more  independence,  and  in  a  more  philosophical  spirit, 
presenting  his  topics  on  broader  and  more  general  grounds.  In  other  words,  the 
old  mode  of  presenting  what  is  called  '  the  old  truth  has  had  its  day.  Whitefield 
himself,  were  he  to  come  back,  would  produce  little  impression  on  our  generation. 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  253 

"  But  here  comes  a  man — no  Whitefield  in  voice,  in  presence,  in  dignity,  or 
genius,  who,  nevertheless,  as  with  one  stroke  of  his  hand,  sweeps  away  all  this  sickly 
sentimentalism,  this  craven  misbelief.  It  is  all  to  him  as  so  much  of  the  merest 
gossamer  web  that  might  have  crossed  his  path.  He  not  only  gives  forth  the  old 
doctrine  of  Paul  in  all  the  strength  of  Paul's  language,  but  with  exaggerations  of  his 
own,  such  as  Paul  would  have  been  forward  to  disavow.  This  man  knows  nothing 
of  doubt  as  to  whence  the  gospel  is,  what  it  is,  or  wherefore  it  has  its  place  amongst 
us.  On  all  such  subjects  his  mind  is  that  of  a  made-up  man.  In  place  of  suspecting 
that  the  old  accredited  doctrines  of  the  gospel  have  pretty  well  done  their  work,  he 
expects  good  from  nothing  else,  and  all  that  he  clusters  about  them  is  for  the  sake  of 
them. 

"  The  philosophical  precision,  the  literary  refinements,  the  nice  discriminations 
between  what  we  may  know  of  a  doctrine  and  what  we  may  not,  leaving  us  in  the 
end,  perhaps,  scarcely  anything  to  know  about  it, — all  this  which,  according  to  some, 
is  so  much  needed  by  the  age,  is  Mr.  Spurgeon's  utter  scorn.  He  is  the  direct, 
dogmatic  enunciator  of  the  old  Pauline  truth,  without  the  slightest  attempt  to  soften 
its  outline,  its  substance,  or  its  results  ;  and  what  has  followed .''  Truly,  Providence 
would  seem  once  more  to  have  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world.  While  the 
gentlemen,  who  know  so  well  how  people  ought  to  preach,  are  left  to  exemplify  their 
profound  lessons  before  empty  benches  and  in  obscure  corners,  the  young  man  at  the 
Surrey  Gardens  can  point  to  his  9  000  auditors,  and  ask,  '  Who,  with  such  a  sight 
before  him,  dares  despair  of  making  the  gospel,  the  good  old  gospel,  a  power  in  the 
great  heart  of  humanity  ?   " 

The  following  extracts  from  an  article  written  by  Mr.  J.  Ewing  Ritchie 
("  Christopher  Crayon  "),  and  published  in  his  volume  entitled.  The  London  Pulpit, 
will  show  that,  even  in  1857,  "all  men"  did  not  "speak  well"  of  the  young 
preacher  : — 

"The  Rev.  C.   H.  Spurgeon. 

"  I  fear  there  is  very  little  difference  between  the  Church  and  the  world.  In 
both,  the  tide  seems  strongly  set  in  favour  of  ignorance,  presumption,  and  charla- 
tanism. In  the  case  of  Mr.  .Spurgeon,  they  have  both  agreed  to  worship  the  same 
idol.  Nowhere  more  abound  the  vulgar,  be  they  great  or  little,  than  at  the 
Surrey  Music  Hall  on  a  Sunday  morning.  Mr.  Spurgeon  s  service  commences  at  a 
quarter  to  eleven,  but  the  doors  are  opened  an  hour  and  a  half  previously,  and  all 
the  while  there  will  be  a  continuous  stream  of  men  and  women, — some  on  foot,  some 
in  cabs,  many  in  carriages, — all  drawn  together  by  this  world's  wonder.  The  motley 
crowd  is  worth  a  study.  .  .  A  very  mixed  congregation  is  this  one  at  the  Surrey 
Gardens.     The  real  flock — the  aborigines  from   Park  Street  Chapel — are  a  peculiar 


254  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHy. 

people, — very  plain,  much  oriven  to  the  wearing  of  clothes  of  an  ancient  cut, — and  easy 
of  recognition.  The  men  are  narrow,  hard,  griping,  to  look  at  ; — the  women  stern  and 
unlovely  ; — yet  they,  and  such  as  they  alone,  if  we  are  to  believe  them,  are  to  walk 
the  pearly  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  to  sit  down  with  martyrs  and  prophets 
and  saints, — with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob, — at  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb.   .   .   . 

"  Here  is  a  peer,  and  there  his  tailor.  Here  Lady  Clara  Vere  de  Vere  kills  a 
weary  hour,  and  there  is  the  poor  girl  who  sat  up  all  night  to  stitch  her  ladyship's 
costly  robe.  Here  is  a  blasphemer  come  to  laugh  ;  there,  a  saint  to  pray.  Can 
these  dry  bones  live  }  Can  the  preacher  touch  the  heart  of  this  listening  mass  ? 
Breathed  on  by  a  spell  more  potent  than  his  own,  will  it  in  its  anguish  and  agony 
exclaim,  '  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? '  You  think  how  this  multitude  would 
have  melted  beneath  the  consecrated  genius  of  a  Chalmers,  or  a  Parsons,  or  a 
Melville,  or  an  Irving, — and  look  to  see  the  same  torrent  of  human  emotions  here. 
Ah,  you  are  mistaken  ! — Mr.  Spurgeon  has  not  the  power  to  wield  'all  thoughts,  all 
passions,  all  delights.'  It  is  not  in  him  to  '  shake  the  arsenal,  and  fulmine  over 
Greece.'  In  the  very  midst  of  his  fiercest  declamation,  you  will  find  his  audience 
untouched  ;  so  coarse  is  the  colouring,  and  clumsy  the  description,  you  can  sit 
calm  and  unmoved  through  it  all  ; — and  all  the  while  the  haughty  beauty  by  your 
side  will  fan  herself  with  a  languor  Charles  Matthews  in  'Used  Up'  might  envy. 
Look  at  the  preacher  ; — the  riddle  is  solved.  You  see  at  once  that  he  is  not  the 
man  to  soar;  and,  soaring,  bear  his  audience,  trembling"  and  enraptured,  with  him  in 
his  Heavenward  flight.   .  .  . 

"  Of  course,  at  times,  there  is  a  rude  eloquence  on  his  lips,  or,  rather,  a  Huenc 
declamation,  which  the  mob  around  takes  for  such.  The  orator  always  soars  with 
his  audience.  With  excited  thousands  waiting  his  lightest  word,  he  cannot  remain 
passionless  and  unmoved.  Words  and  thoughts  are  borne  to  him  from  them. 
There  is  excitement  in  the  hour  ;  there  is  excitement  in  the  theme  ;  there  is  excite- 
ment in  the  living  mass  ;  and,  it  may  be,  as  the  preacher  speaks  of  a  physical  hell 
and  displays  a  physical  heaven,  some  sensual  nature  is  aroused,  and  a  change  may 
be  effected  in  a  man's  career. 

"  Little  causes  may  produce  great  events  ;  one  chance  word  may  be  the 
beginning  of  a  new  and  a  better  life  ;  but  the  thoughtful  hearer  will  learn 
nothing,  will  be  induced  to  feel  nothing,  will  find  that,  as  regards  Christian 
edification,  he  had  much  better  have  stayed  at  home.  At  the  best,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
will  seem  to  him  a  preacher  of  extraordinary  volubility.  Most  probably  he  will 
return  from  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  services  disgusted  with  the  noisy  crowding, 
reminding  him  of  the  Adelphi  rather  than  the  house  of  God  ;  disgusted  with  the 
commonplace  prayer  ;    disgusted  with  the  questionable  style  of  oratory  ;  disgusted 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY.  255 

with  the  narrowness  of  the  preacher's  creed,  and  its  pitiful  misrepresentations  of  '  the 
glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God  ;'  disgusted  with  the  stupidity  that  can  take,  for 
a  Divine  afflatus,  brazen  impudence  and  leathern  lungs.  Most  probably,  he  will 
come  back  confessing  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  the  youngest,  and  the  loudest,  and  the 
most  notorious  preacher  in  London, — little  more  ;  the  idol  of  people  who  dare  not 
go  to  theatres,  and  yet  pant  for  theatrical  excitement.   .   .   . 

"Will  not  Mr.  Spurgeon's  very  converts,  as  they  become  older, — as  they  under- 
stand Christianity  better, — as  the  excitemeni;  produced  by  dramatic  dialogues  in  the 
midst  of  feverish  audiences  dies  av/ay, — feel  this  themsjhes?  And  yet  this  man 
actually  got  nearly  24,000  to  hear  him  on  the  Day  of  Humiliation.  Such  a  thing 
seems  marvellous.  If  popularity  means  anytiiing,  which,  however,  it  does  not,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  is  one  of  our  greatest  orators.  It  is  true,  it  is  not  difficult  to  collect  a 
crowd  in  London.  If  I  simply  stand  stock  still  in  Cheapside,  in  the  middle  of  the 
day,  a  crowd  is  immediately  collected.  The  upper  class  of  society  requires  finer 
weapons  than  any  Mr.  Spurgeon  wields  ;  but  he  preaches  to  the  people  in  a  homely 
style,  and  they  like  it,  for  he  is  always  plain,  and  never  dull.  Then,  his  voice  is 
wonderful  ;  of  itself,  a  thing  worth  going  to  hear  ;  and  he  has  a  readiness  rare  in  the 
pulpit,  and  which  is  invaluable  to  an  orator.  Then,  again,  the  matter  of  his  dis- 
courses commends  itself  to  uneducated  hearers.  We  have  done  with  the  old  miracle- 
plays,  wherein  God  the  Father  appeared  upon  the  stage  in  a  blue  coat,  and  wherein 
the  devil  had  very  visible  hoofs  and  tail  ;  but  the  principle  to  which  they  appealed — 
the  love  of  man  for  dramatic  representations  rather  than  abstract  truths — remains, 
and  Mr.  Spurgeon  avails  himself  of  it  successfully.  Another  singular  fact — Mr. 
Spurgeon  would  quote  it  as  a  proof  of  its  truth, — is  that  what  is  called  high  doctrine, 
— the  doctrine  Mr.  Spurgeon  preaches, — the  doctrine  which  lays  down  all  human 
pride,  — which  teaches  uswe  are  villams  by  necessity,  and  fools  by  a  Divine  thrusting 
on,  —  is  always  popular,  and,  singular  as  it  may  seem,  especially  on  the  Surrey  side 
of  the  water. 

"  In  conclusion,  let  me  not  be  understood  as  blaming  Mr.  Spurgeon.  We 
do  not  blame  Stephani  when  Caliban  falls  at  his  feet,  and  swears  that  'he's  a 
brave  god,  and  bears  celestial  liquor.'  Few  ministers  get  people  to  hear  them. 
Mr.  Spurgeon  has  succeeded  in  doing  so.  It  may  be  a  pity  that  the  people  will  not 
go  and  hear  better  preachers  ;  but,  in  the  meanwhile,  no  one  can  blame  Mr.  Spurgeon 
that  he  fearlessly  and  honestly  preaches  what  he  deems  the  truth." 

In  the  Preface  to  the  volume,  From  the  Ushers  Desk  to  the  Tabernacle  Pulpit, 
Mr.  Shindler  thus  writes  concerning  the  group  represented  on  page  256  : — "  In  the 
hall  at  '  Westwood  '  there  hangs  a  picture,  of  considerable  size, — containing  the 
portraits    of    one    hundred    and    ninety-three    men    and    women    of    mark,    almost 


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258  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

exclusively  divines  of  the  Protestant  Church, — in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  large 
likeness  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  when  about  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  when  hardly 
the  promise  of  a  beard  adorned  his  face.  The  portraits  were  pieced  together, 
in  a  very  neat  and  ingenious  manner,  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Mountford,  then  of 
Sevenoaks,  and  afterwards  of  Leighton  Buzzard,  where  he  died  in  1867.  Mr. 
Mountford  presented  the  picture  to  JVIr.  Spurgeon,  and  it  was  photographed  and 
sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle  Fund,  when  the  building  was 
in  course  of  erection.  In  the  picture,  Mr.  Spurgeon  stands  in  the  attitude  in 
which  he  was  commonly  represented  at  that  time, — the  right  arm  raised,  and  the 
forefinger  of  the  right  hand  pointing  upwards.  It  might  have  seemed  to  some 
too  great  an  honour  conferred  on  the  young  Pastor  to  place  him  so  conspicuously 
among  the  learned  doctors  and  great  divines  of  the  Puritan  and  later  times  ;  but 
his  subsequent  career  has  fully  justified  the  position  then  assigned  to  him.  He 
has  eclipsed  in  popularity  and  usefulness  the  greatest  of  them  all,  though  no  one 
could  have  dreamed,  at  that  time,  to  what  vast  dimensions  his  influence,  his  fame, 
and  his  varied  and  marvellous  usefulness  would  extend." 

Beside  the  historic  interest  attaching  to  the  group  of  portraits,  readers  of 
the  Autobiography  will  be  able  to  pick  out  the  likenesses  of  many  ministers  and 
prominent  laymen  who  were  more  or  less  closely  associated  with  Mr  Spurgeon, 
and  whose  names  are  mentioned  in   this  or  the  preceding  volume. 


CHAPTER   LIII. 


CIjc  "  IBoijan==grabe "  Coutro&mg  jFDtcsIjabobjtlr. 

It  is  frequently  objected  that  the  preacher  is  censorious  :  he  is  not  desirous  of  defending  himself 
(rem  the  charge  He  is  confident  that  many  are  conscious  that  his  charges  are  true,  and  if  true,  Christian 
love  requires  us  to  warn  those  who  err  ;  nor  will  candid  men  condemn  the  minister  who  is  bold  enough 
to  point  out  the  faults  of  the  Church  and  the  age,  even  when  all  classes  are  moved  to  anger  by  his 
faithful  rebukes,  and  pour  on  his  head  the  full  vials  of  their  wrath.     If  this  be  vile,  we  purpose  to  be 

VILER  STILL.  — C,  H.  S.,  1856. 

I  have  often  thought,  the  best  answer  to  the  new  theology  is,  that  the  true  gospel  was  always 
preached  to  the  poor :  "X'le  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them."  I  am  sure  that  the  poor  will 
never  learn  tke  gospel  of  these  new  divines,  for  they  cannot  make  head  or  tail  of  it ;  nor  will  the  rich 
either.  After  you  have  read  one  of  their  volumes,  you  have  not  the  least  idea  what  the  book  is  about 
until  you  have  gone  through  it  eight  or  nine  times,  and  then  you  begin  to  think  you  are  very  stupid  for 
having  ever  read  such  inflated  heresy,  tor  it  sours  your  temper,  and  makes  you  feel  angry,  to  see  the 
precious  things  of  God  trodden  under  foot.  Some  of  us  must  stand  out  against  these  attacks  on  truth, 
although  we  love  not  controversy.  We  rejoice  in  the  liberty  of  our  fellow-men,  and  would  have  them 
proclaim  their  conviccions  ;  but  if  they  touch  these  precious  things,  they  touch  the  apple  of  our  eye.  We 
can  allow  a  thousand  opinions  in  the  world,  but  that  which  infringes  upon  the  doctrine  of  a  covenant 
salvation,  through  the  imputed  righteousness  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — against  that  we  must,  and  will, 
enter  our  hearty  and  solemn  protest,  as  long  as  God  spares  us. — C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  preached  at  New  Park 
Street  Chapel,  April  15,  i860.      {See  quotation  on  page  273.) 

As  good  stewards,  we  must  maintain  the  cause  of  truth  against  all  comers.  "  Never  get  into 
religious  controversies,'  says  one  ;  that  is  to  say.  being  interpreted,  "  Be  a  Christian  soldier,  but  let  your 
sword  rust  in  its  scabbard,  and  sneak  into  Heaven  like  a  coward."  Such  advice  1  cannot  endorse  if 
God  has  called  you  by  the  truth,  maintain  the  truth  which  has  been  the  means  ot  your  salvation  We 
are  not  to  be  pugnacious,  always  contending  for  every  crotchet  of  our  own  ,  but  wherein  we  have 
learned  the  truth  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  are  not  tamely  to  see  that  standard  torn  down  which  our  fathers 
upheld  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  This  is  an  age  in  which  truth  must  be  maintained  zealously, 
vehemently,  continually.  Playing  fast  and  loose,  as  many  do,  believing  this  to-day  and  that  to-morrow, 
is  the  sure  mark  of  children  of  wrath ;  but  having  received  the  truth,  to  hold  fast  the  very  form  ut  it,  as 
Paul  bids  Timothy  to  do,  is  one  of  the  duties  of  heirs  of  Heaven.  Stand  fast  for  truth,  and  may  God 
give  the  victory  to  the  faithful !— C.  H.  S.,  1867 


HEN,  in  1887,  there  arose  the  great  "Down-grade"  controversy,  in 
which  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  to  prove  himself  Christ's  faithful  witness 
and  martyr,  many  people  were  foolish  enough  to  suppose  that 
he  had  adopted  a  new  role,  and  some  said  that  he  would  have 
done  more  good  by  simply,  preaching  the  gospel,  and  leaving 
the  so-called  "  heretics "  to  go  their  own  way !  Such  critics  must  have  been 
strangely  unfamiliar  with  his  whole  history,  for,  from  the  very  beginning  of  his 
ministry,  he  had  earnestly  contended  for  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the 
saints.  Long  before  The  Sivord  and  the  /"rt^eyf/ appeared,  with  its  monthly  "record 
of  combat  with  sin  and  of  labour  for  the  Lord,"  its  Editor  had  been  busily  occupied 


26o  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

both  in  battling  and  building, — vigorously  combating  error  in  all  its  forms,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  edifying  and  establishing  in  the  faith  those  who  had  been  brought 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth   as  it  is   in  Jesus. 

While  the  church  under  Mr.  Spurgeon's  pastoral  charge  was  worshipping  in 
New  Park  Street  Chapel,  there  were  two  notable  controversies,^the  first  was 
caused  by  the  issue  of  a  book  of  hymns,  written  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Toke  Lynch, 
and  entitled,  The  Rivitlet;  or.  Hymns  for  the  Heart  and  Voice.  The  other  arose 
from  the  publication  of  a  volume  of  sermons  by  Rev.  James  Baldwin  Brown,  B.A., 
entitled,  The  Divine  Life  in  Man.  Mr.  J.  Ewing  Ritchie,  whose  adverse  opinion 
concerning  Mr.  Spurgeon,  at  that  period,  is  given  on  page  253,  wrote  at  about  the 
same  time  in  this  friendly  fashion  with  regard  to  Mr.  Lynch  :— 

"  Some  few  years  back,  when  Professor  Scott,  then  of  University  College, 
London,  now  of  Owen's  College,  Manchester,  was  in  town,  it  seemed  as  if  an  honest 
attempt  was  made  to  meet  and  win  to  Christianity  the  philosophy  that  was  genuine 
and  earnest  and  religious,  though  it  squared  with  the  creed  of  no  church,  and 
took  for  its  te.xt-book  the  living  heart  of  man  rather  than  the  written  Word.  In 
our  time,  the  same  thing  is  attempted.  The  man  who  has  had  the  courage  to 
make  the  attempt, — and  to  whom  honour  should  be  given  for  it, — is  the  Rev. 
Thomas   Lynch." 

The  Baptist  Messenger,  y\.7\.y,  1856,  in  reviewing  Mr.  James  Grant's  pamphlet 
upon  "  The  Rivulet  Controversy,"  gave  the  following  resume  of  the  dispute, 
which  will  enable  present-day  readers  to  understand  the  merits  of  the  subject 
then  under  discussion  : — 

"  A  volume  of  poetry  by  Rev.  T.  T.  Lynch,  has  lately  been  published.  These 
'  hymns  '  were  very  highly  commended  in  The  Eclectic  Revieiv,  and  subsequently  in 
The  Patriot,  and  The  Nonconformist.  The  Editor  of  The  Morning  Advertiser 
(Mr.  James  Grant),  who  has  in  his  day  done  much  service  to  the  cause  of 
Evangelical  truth,  also  reviewed  the  volume  ;  and  while  referring  most  respectfully 
to  Mr.  Lynch  and  his  poetry,  pronounced  these  '  hymns '  to  be  seriously  defective 
with  regard  to  the  essentials  of  vital  Christianity  ;  that,  while  in  them  there  was 
no  distinct  recognition  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  or  of  the  mediatorial  work  and 
vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  Saviour,  or  of  the  personality,  office,  and  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  ;  at  the  same  time  there  was  an  implied  denial  of  the  doctrine  of 
innate  and  total  depravity.  In  proof  of  this  latter  charge,  the  following  stanzas, 
from  one  of  the  hymns  in  question,  were  quoted  by  Mr.  Grant  : — 

"  'Our  heart  is  like  a  little  pool, 
Left  by  the  ebbing  sea ; 
Of  crystal  waters  still  and  cool, 
When  we  rest  musingly. 


C.     H.     6PURGEON  S    AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  26I 

"  '  AnJ  see  what  verdure  exquisite. 
Within  it  hidden  grows  ; 
We  never  should  have  had  the  sight, 
But  for  this  brief  repose. ' 

"  '  Only  imagine,'  says  the  Editor  of  The  Morning  Advertiser,  '  this  and  other 
such  kind  of  hymns  being  sung  in  a  place  of  public  worship,  or  being  quoted  to 
or  by  a  person  in  the  near  prospect  of  the  world  to  come.  There  is  poetry,'  says 
Mr.  Grant,  '  in  the  63rd  hymn,  but  we  look  in  vain  for  the  least  atom  of  practical 
religion  in  it ; '  and  he  adds,  '  if  the  materials  of  the  reverend  gentleman's  sermons  be 
substantially  similar  to  those  of  his  hymns,  we  should  be  much  surprised  were 
not  the  instances  very  rare  indeed  of  persons  crying  out  in  intense  agony  of  soul, 
under  his  ministrations,  "  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  ' 

"  In  a  subsequent  notice  of  the  work,  the  same  writer  expressed  his  regret 
that  T/ie  Eclectic  Revieiv  should  have  endorsed  this  'modified  Deism'  of  JNIr.  Lynch, 
hoping  that  the  objectionable  article  had  crept  into  the  pages  of  that  Magazine 
unawares.  To  these  animadversions,  the  Editor  of  The  Eclectic  replied,  not 
ingenuously  enough  to  escape  further  remonstrances  from  his  sturdy  opponent, 
at  which  The  Eclectic  took  great  umbrage,  and  accused  Mr.  Grant  of  being  guilty 
of  '  sordidness  and  calumny,' and  of  being  influenced  by  'extreme  personal  prejudice.' 
For  ourselves,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that,  from  all  we  know  of  the 
Editor  of  The  Morning  Advertiser,  we  can  testify  that  he  is  too  much  of  a 
Christian  and  a  gentleman  to  be  influenced  by  mean  and  unworthy  motives.  So 
far  from  this,  Mr.  Grant  has  not  been  in  the  least  degree  backward  to  acknowledge 
the  literary  taste  which  the  volume  displayed,  and  spoke  of  Mr.  Lynch  as  being 
both  amiable  and  highly  intellectual.      It  was  his  theology  only  that  was  condemned. 

"  In  the  March  number  of  The  Eclectic,  the  strife  was  renewed  with  more 
than  tenfold  vigour.  On  this  occasion,  some  fifteen  of  the  leading  metropolitan 
ministers,  headed  by  the  Revs.  Allon,  Binney,  and  Newman  Hall,  came  to  the 
help  of  the  Editor  of  The  Eclectic,  and  xki&xx  protdge,  the  Rev.  T.  T.  Lynch.  The 
literary  and  devotional  merits  of  these  hymns,  as  well  as  the  orthodoxy  ot  their 
author,  they  endorsed  and  commended  in  the  form  of  a  protest  signed  by  all 
the  fifteen. 

"  The  Editor  of  The  Morning  Advertiser,  nothing  daunted  by  the  status 
or  talents  of  his  reverend  assailants,  met  the  combined  forces — an  imposing 
phalanx, — with  a  simple  interrogatory  : — '  Can  Mr.  Newman  Hall,  Mr.  Binney,  Mr. 
.Martin,  or  either  of  the  remainder  of  the  fifteen  reverend  protesters  reconcile  it 
with  his  views  of  right,  to  give  out  the  "  hymn  "  we  have  just  quoted  in  his  chapel? 
No  one  of  the  number  will  venture  to  return  an  affirmative  answer  to  the  question.' 
If  this  be  so,  then  we  ask,  wherefore  do  these  reverend  gentlemen  appear  in  the 
field  at  all  ?       It  had  been  far  better  for  themselves,   and  for  The  Eclectic  Review, 


262  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

had  they  heeded  the  counsel  of  the  wise  man,  '  Leave  off  contention,  before  it 
be  meddled  with,'  and  had  left  the  criticism  and  remonstrances  of  Mr.  Grant  to 
their  own  merits,  than  for  them  to  have  interfered  at  all  in  the  afiair.  We 
do  most  deeply  deplore  the  position  these  fifteen  reverend  gentlemen  have 
voluntarily  and  needlessly  taken  in  this  business,  inasmuch  as  we  greatly  fear 
it  betokens,  on  their  part,  an  evident  leaning  towards  a  transcendental  theology, 
the  blighting  influences  of  which  have  proved  most  fatal  to  many  once-flourishing 
churches. 

"  In  a  series  of  powerfully-written  articles,  which  have  appeared  in  Tlie  Banntr, 
headed  '  The  Theology  of  Nonconformity,'  Dr.  Campbell  has  given  the  results 
of  his  searching  analysis  of  Mr.  Lynch's  volume,  which  he  pronounces  to  be  as 
destitute  of  poetic  excellence  as  it  is  of  the  elementary  principles  of  Christian 
doctrine,  containing  hymns  which  any  infidel  might  compose  or  use.  We  thank 
Mr.  Grant  for  the  outspoken  truths  contained  in  his  pamphlet.  Although  but 
a  layman,  he  has,  in  its  pages,  contended  nobly  and  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints, — 'an  eft'ort,'  to  adopt  his  own  words,  'which  may  the 
Almighty  be  pleased  to  crown  with  eminent  success  ! '  " 

In  The  Christian  Cabinet,  May  23,  Mr.  Banks  published  the  following 
article  written  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  : — 

"  Mine  Opinion. 

"The  appearance  of  a  volume  entitled  The  Rivulet  has  excited  a  controversy 
of  the  most  memorable  character.  I  shall  not  enter  into  the  details  of  that  fierce 
affray  ;  the  champions  on  either  side  have  been  of  noble  rank,  have  done  their  best, 
and  must  await  the  verdict  of  the  Master  for  whom  they  profess  to  strive.  .Some  of 
the  fighting  has  not  appeared  quite  in  keeping  with  fairness,  and  there  are  a  few 
persons  who  have  gained  little  but  disgrace  in  the  battle,  while  there  are  others  who 
deserve  the  eternal  thanks  of  the  faithful  for  their  valiant  defence  of  the  truth.  It  is 
my  business,  not  to  review  the  controversy,  but  the  book  of  poems.  Another  time  I 
may  possibly  give  '  mine  opinion  '  upon  that  subject.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  my 
mind  on  doctrinal  points  is  wholly  with  the  men  who  have  censured  the  theology  of 
the  writer  of  the  hymns. 

"  With  the  leave  of  Mr.  Editor,  I  will  forget  the  past  for  a  moment,  and  give 
'mine  opinion.'  It  may  be  of  little  worth,  but  there  are  not  a  few  who  will  give  it  a 
patient  hearing.  Concerning  this  book, — The  Rivulet, — let  me  say,  in  the  first  place, 
I  believe  that,  except  in  Kentish  Town  (Mr.  Lynch's  residence),  there  is  scarcely  to 
be  found  an  individual  who  would  ever  think  of  using  these  Hymns  for  the  Heart  and 
Voice  in  the  public  assembly.  A  book  may  be  very  excellent,  and  yet  unfit  for 
certain  purposes.      Who  would  dream  of  giving  out  a  verse  from  quaint  old  Quarles  ? 


c.    H     spurgeon's    autobiography.  263 

Imagine  tne  precentor  saying,    '  Let  us  sing  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God  the  ode 
on  the  150th  page  of  Quarks'  School  of  the  Heart. — 

•"  Whatl 
Shall  I 
Always  lie 
Grov'ling  on  earth.  , 

Where  there  is  no  mirth? 
Why  should  I  not  ascend, 
And  climb  up  where  I  may  mend 
My  mean  estate  of  misery  ? 
Happiness,  I  know,  is  exceeding  high  ; 
Yet  sure  there  is  some  remedy  for  that.' 

"  We  should  not  find  fault  with  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  Herbert's  Temple,  or 
Young's  Night  Thoughts,  because  we  cannot  sing  them  in  our  houses  of  prayer,  for 
such  was  not  their  design.  But  The  Rivulet  professes  to  be  a  book  of  hymns 
'suitable  for  the  chamber  or  the  church;'  they  may  be  'said  or  sung;'  and  to 
facilitate  their  use  in  song,  the  author  has  appended  tunes  from  The  Psalmist.  We 
are,  therefore,  called  upon  to  judge  it  as  a  hymn-book;  and  it  is  our  firm  opinion 
that,  until  Buder's  Hudibras  is  sung  in  Heaven,  Mr.  Lynch's  Rivulet  will  not  be 
adopted  in  the  assemblies  of  the  saints  below. 

"  There  is  scarcely  an  old  woman  in  our  churches  who  would  not  imitate  that 
ancient  dame  in  Scotland  who  hurled  her  stool  at  the  minister's  head,  should  any  of 
us  venture  to  mount  our  pulpits,  and  exclaim,  '  Let  us  commence  the  present  service 
by  singing  the  34th  hymn  in  The  Rivulet, — 

"'When  the  wind  is  blowing 

Do  not  shrink  and  cower ; 
Firmly  onward  going, 

Feel  the  joy  of  power: 
Heaviest  the  heart  is 

In  a  heavy  air. 
Every  wind  that  rises. 

Blows  away  despair.' 

"  I  ask,  without  fear  of  any  but  a  negative  reply, — Could  any  man  in  Christen- 
dom, sing  the  concluding  '  I'Envoi  '  ?  I  believe  I  shall  never  find  an  advocate  for  the 
singing  of  these  hymns  in  churches,  and  will  therefore  have  done  with  that  point, 
only  remarking  that,  if  a  book  be  not  what  it  professes  to  be,  it  is  a  failure,  however 
excellent  it  may  be  in  other  respects.  One  would  fain  hope  that  the  intelligent 
author,  should  another  edition  be  demanded,  will  preface  it  with  other  words, 
purporting  another  object  for  his  book,  and  then  one  great  objection  would  be  quiedv 
removed,  while  he  could  still  use  his  work  himself  as  a  hymn-book,  if  any  could  be 
found  to  sing  with  him. 

"  It  is  said  that  the  new  hymn-book  matter  omens  badly  ;  well,  it  is  very  likely, 
but  that  is  not  my  business  just  now. 


264  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  In  the  second  place,  when  reading  these  hymns,  simply  as  literary  compositions, 
1  found  them  far  from  despicable.  There  is  true  poetry  in  some  of  them,  of  a  very 
delicate  and  refined  order.  Every  now  and  then,  the  voices  of  the  flowers  or  of  the 
rain-drops  are  clear  and  soft,  and  perpetually  the  thinkings  of  the  poet  wake  an  echo 
in  the  soul.  There  is  much  mist,  and  a  large  proportion  of  fog  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
there  is  enough  of  poetic  light  to  cheer  the  darkness.  I  believe  there  is  a  moderate 
quantity  of  unintelligible  writing  in  the  book.  At  any  rate,  there  are  many  sentences 
of  which  I  cannot  see  the  connection  ;  but,  no  doubt,  these  are  grand  thoughts  which 
broke  the  backs  of  the  words,  or  frightened  them  out  of  their  propriety.  There  is 
nothing  very  wonderful  in  the  book.  We  hope  to  see  many  productions  far  superior 
to  it  before  we  are  very  much  older,  and  we  hope  at  least  to  see  many  volumes  which 
can  endure  the  criticism  of  a  daily  journal,  and  yet  keep  up  their  spirits  without  the 
potent  cordial  of  fifteen  ministerial  recommendations. 

"  I  should  set  this  Rivulet  on  my  shelf  somewhere  near  Tennyson  for  its  song, 
and  sundry  nondescript  labyrinthine  divines  for  its  doctrine  ;  but  should  I  place  it  in 
the  same  bookcase  with  Watts,  Cowper,  Hart,  and  Toplady,  I  should  be  on  the  look- 
out for  a  tremendous  hubbub  if  the  worthy  authors  should  arouse  themselves  from 
the  covers  of  their  volumes  ;  and  should  it  show  itself  in  the  region  sacred  to  Owen, 
Baxter,  Howe,  Charnock,  Bunyan,  Crisp,  Gill,  &c.,  I  am  sure  their  ancient  effigies 
would  scarcely  be  able  to  display  their  indignation  in  the  absence  of  those  fists 
whereof  the  antique  oval  frame  has  bereaved  them.  Apart  from  all  theological 
consideration,  a  man  of  reading  would  not  regret  the  purchase  of  this  volume  ;  but 
the  mass  of  book-skimmers  would,  with  some  qualification,  apply  to  the  present  book 
the  words  of  the  wit  concerning  Tennyson's  Maud, — 

"  '  Dreadfully  dry  and  dreadfully  dawdling, 

Tennyson's  Maud  should  be  Tennyson's  maudlin.' 

"  This,  I  am  aware,  is  no  argument  against  the  book  ;  in  fact,  many  writers 
think  themselves  complimented  when  they  are  told  that  only  the  few  can  appreciate 
them.  I  am  midway  between  the  many  and  the  few  ;  I  shall  not  exclaim  against 
a  man's  poem  because  I  have  not  culture  of  mind  enough  to  sympathize  with  his 
mode  ot  expression,  nor  can  I  hope  to  claim  the  privilege  which  allows  t(j  the 
discerning  few  the  right  of  decisive  criticism.  I  can  only  say,  I  had  rather  have 
written  Divine  and  Moral  Songs  fo7'  Children  than  these  fine  but  comparatively 
useless  verses.  No  man  of  even  moderate  education  can  despise  the  talent, 
the  mind,  and  the  research,  which  have  together  produced  this  '  rivulet  singing 
as  it  flows  along  ;'  but  he  who  desires  to  see  talent  well  applied,  and  mind  put  out 
to  the  largest  interest,  will  never  consider  the  writing  of  these  verses  a  profitable 
employment.  A  minister  of  Christ's  holy  gospel  should  ever  be  seeking  after  the 
conversion  of  his  fellow-men  ;  and  I  would  be  sorry  to  write  so  much,  and  expend 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  265 

so  much  labour,    on   a  work   so   little  calculated  to  arouse  the  careless,  guide  the 
wanderer,  comfort  the  desponding,  or  edify  the  believer. 

"  In  the  next  place,  what  have  I  to  say  of  the  hymns  theologically.'*  I  answer, 
there  is  so  little  of  the  doctrinal  element  in  them  that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  judge  ;  and  that 
little  is  so  indefinite  that,  apart  from  the  author's  antecedents,  one  could  scarcely 
guess  his  doctrinal  views  at  all.  Certainly,  some  verses  are  bad, — bad  in  the  most 
unmitigated  sense  of  that  word  ;  but  others  of  them,  like  noses  of  wax,  will  fit 
more  than  one  face. 

"  There  are  sweet  sentences  which  would  become  the  lips  of  those  rich 
poets  of  early  times  in  whom  quaintness  of  style  and  weight  of  matter  were 
united,  but  an  unkind  observer  will  notice  that  even  these  are  not  angular  enough 
to  provoke  the  hostility  of  the  Unitarian,  and  might  be  uttered  alike  by  the  lover 
and   the  hater   of  what  we  are  well   known  to  regard  as  the  gospel. 

"  Frequently,  an  honest  tongue  must  pronounce  unhesitating  condemnation  ; 
but  in  many  other  places,  one  must  pause  lest,  while  cutting  up  the  tares,  we 
destroy  the  wheat  also.  The  scale  one  moment  descends  with  good  truth,  and 
for  many  a  long  hour  it  hangs  aloft  with  emptiness  for  its  only  glory.  There  is 
nothing  distinct  in  the  book  but  its  indistinctness  ;  and  one  becomes  painfully 
nervous  while  wandering  through  this  pretty  valley,  lest  it  should  turn  out  to  be 
what  some  of  its  waymarks  betoken, — an  enchanted  ground  full  of  '  deceivableness 
of  unrighteousness.'  There  are  in  it  doctrines  which  no  man  who  knows  the 
plague  of  his  own  heart  can  tolerate  for  a  moment,  and  which  the  believer  in 
free-grace  will  put  aside  as  being  nothing  but  husks,  upon  which  he  cannot  feed. 
'  It  is  not  my  book,'  the  convinced  sinner  will  exclaim  ;  and  the  matured  believer 
will  say,  '  Nor  is  it  mine,'  and  yet  it  is  more  covertly  unsound  than  openly  so. 

"  These  hymns  rise  up  in  the  Rivulet  like  mermaids, — there  is  much  form  and 
comeliness  upon  the  surface,  but  their  nether  parts,  I  ween,  it  were  hard  to  describe. 
Perhaps  they  are  not  the  fair  things  they  seem  :  when  I  look  below  their  glistening 
eyes  and  flowing  hair,  I  think  I  discern  some  meaner  nature  joined  with  the  form 
divine,  but  the  surface  of  this  Rivulet  is  green  with  beautifully-flowering  weeds,  and 
I  can  scarcely  see  into  the  depths  where  lurks  the  essence  of  the  matter. 

"This  much  I  think  I  can  discover  in  this  volume, — viz.,  that  it  is  not  the 
song  of  an  Isaiah  speaking  more  of  Jesus  than  all  the  rest,  nor  a  canticle  of  Solomon 
concerning  'my  Well-beloved.'  It  is  doubtful  who  is  the  mother  of  this  babe; 
and  so  little  claim  will  orthodoxy  ever  lay  to  it,  that  its  true  parent  may  receive  it 
into  her  loving  arms,  and  there  will  be  no  demand  for  the  half  thereof  But,  then, 
the  writer  never  as'ked  us  to  grant  him  the  reputation  of  our  orthodoxy  ;  we  need 
not,   therefore,   dispute  with   him   concerning  that  to  which   he  makes  no  claim. 

"  If  I  should  ever  be  on  amicable  terms  with  the  chief  of  the  Ojibewas,  I  might 


266  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

suggest  several  verses  from  Mr.  Lynch  as  a  portion  of  a  liturgy  to  be  used  on  the 
next  occasion  when  he  bows  before  the  Great  Spirit  of  the  West  wind,  for  there 
are  some  most  appropriate  .sonnets  ior  the  worship  of  the  God  of  nature  which 
the  unenlightened  savage  would  understand  quite  as  well  as  the  believer  in 
Revelation,  and  might  perhaps  receive  rather  more  readily.  Hark!  O  ye  Delawares, 
Mohawks,  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Blackfeet,  Pawnees,  Shawnees,  and  Cherokees, 
here  is  your  primitive  faith  most  sweetly  rehearsed, — not  in  your  own  wild  notes, 
but  in  the  white  man's  language  : — 

•'  '  My   God,    in   nature   I   confess 
A   beauty   fraught   with   hohness; 
Love  written   plainly   I   descry 
My  life's  commandment   in   the   sky ; 
oil,   still   to   me   the  days   endear, 
When   lengthening   light   leads   on   the   year ! 

"  It  is,  I  conceive,  but  a  fair  judgment  to  which  even  the  writer  would  give 
his  assent  that  these  are  more  the  hymns  of  nature  than  the  songs  of  Zion,  though 
I  am  far  from  believing  that  even  the  voice  of  nature  is  here  at  all  times  taithfully 
interpreted.  This  rivulet  runs  through  fair  meadows,  and  between  glorious  hills, 
but  it  flows  rather  too  far  away  from  'the  oracle  of  God'  to  please  me.  It  has 
some  pure  drops  of  God's  own  rain  within  its  bosom,  but  its  flood  is  not  drawn 
from  the  river,  'the  streams  whereof  shall  make  glad  the  city  of  God.'  It  has  good 
thoughts,  holy  thoughts,  from  God's  glorious  temple  of  nature,  commingled  with 
a  few  of  the  words  of  the  inspired  prophets  of  the  Lord  ;  but,  in  the  main,  its 
characteristic  is  not  Revelation,  but  nature.  As  such,  it  can  never  suit  the  taste 
of  the  spiritually-minded  who  delight  in  fellowship  with  the  Divine  Jesus.  Those 
who  would  crown  the  Head  of  their  Maker  with  wreaths  of  thought,  may  here  find 
some  little  assistance  ;  but  she  who  would  wash  the  feet  of  the  God-man,  Christ 
Jesus,  with  her  tears,  will  never  find  a  companion  in  this  book.  I  can  talk  with 
it  for  an  hour,  and  learn  much  from  it  ;  but  I  cannot  love  it  as  I  do  my  favourite 
Herbert,  and  it  does  not  open  the  door  of  Heaven  to  me  as  does  the  music  of  Zion 
which  it  is  my  wont  to  hear.  But  why  am  I  to  condemn  a  book  because  it  does  not 
touch  a  chord  in  my  own  soul  ?  Why  should  I  blame  a  man  because  he  has  not 
written  for  the  old-fashioned  piety  which  some  of  us  inherit  from  our  fathers? 
Why  murmur  if  he  speaks  his  own  much-puzzled  mind  in  language  which  the 
repose  of  an  anchored  faith  cannot  interpret?  It  were  unfair  to  burn  this  book 
because  it  came  forth,  like  some  other  queer  things,  on  the  fifth  of  November ; 
and  it  is  not  very  brave  to  be  so  desperately  afraid  of  a  plot  because,  on  that 
day,  a  man  was  discovered,  with  a  dark  lantern,  singing  in  the  vaults  beneath 
the  house  which  ancient  people  call  ^/le  trittli,  against  which  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail. 


c.    H.    spukgeon's   autobiography.  267 

"  Liberty  of  conscience  is  every  man's  right  ;  our  writer  has  spoken  his  mind, 
why  should  he  alone  provoke  attack  when  many  others,  who  agree  quite  as  little  with 
our  views,  are  allowed  to  escape  ?  The  batde  is  either  a  tribute  to  superior  ability, 
or  else  a  sign  of  the  times  ;  1  believe  it  to  be  both.  The  work  has  its  errors,  in  the 
estimation  of  one  who  does  not  fear  to  subscribe  himself  a  Calvinistic  Christian,  but 
it  has  no  more  evil  leaven  than  other  books  of  far  less  merit.  No  one  would  have 
read  it  with  a  jealous  eye  unless  it  had  been  made  the  centre  of  a  controversy,  for  we 
should  either  have  let  it  quietly  alone,  or  should  have  forgotten  the  deleterious 
mixture,  and  retained  the  little  good  which  it  certainly  contains.  The  author  did  not 
write  for  us  ;  he  wrote  for  men  of  his  own  faith,  he  tells  his  little  book, — 

"  '  Thy  haven  shall  the  approval  be 
Of  liearts  with  faith  like  thine.' 

"  The  only  wonder  is,  that  men,  whom  we  thought  to  be  of  other  mind,  should 
endorse  all  therein  ;  but  private  friendship  operates  largely,  and  perhaps  some  of 
them  may  have  sympathized  more  with  the  vian  censured  than  with  the  man  singing. 
This  deed  of  men,  who  in  standing  are  eminent,  is  not  a  theme  for  our  present 
discussion.  We  must,  however,  observe  that  we  cannot  wonder  that  they  themselves 
are  attacked,  and  we  cannot  think  that  any  other  course  was  open  to  the  original 
censor  than  to  reply  with  spirit. 

"We  are  sure  this  book  could  not  cheer  us  on  a  dying  bed,  or  even  nerve  us 
with  faith  for  a  living  conflict.  Its  sentiments  are  not  ours  ;  its  aims,  its  teachings,  are 
not  enough  akin  to  any  which  we  hold  dear  to  give  us  any  aid  in  our  labours  ;  but  if 
there  be  any  goodness,  doth  not  the  bee  suck  honey  from  the  netde  ?  We  would  do 
the  same,  believing  it  to  be  a  nettle  still  ;  but  one  which  does  not  grow  in  our 
garden,  and  is  not  of  very  gigantic  stature,  and  therefore  no  great  object  of 
abhorrence.  Had  the  author  claimed  to  be  one  of  the  old  school,  we  might  be  up 
in  arms  ;  but  we  know  the  men  and  their  communications,  therefore  we  need  not 
read  what  we  do  not  approve. 

"  The  book  is  out  of  our  line  as  a  theological  work,  it  does  not  advocate  what 
we  believe  ;  having  said  that,  we  have  been  but  honest  ;  and  those  who  think  with  us 
need  not  malign  the  author  ;  but,  seeing  that  the  fight  is  now  in  another  quarter,  let 
them  respect  the  man,  however  much  they  may  oppose  the  sentiments  which  have 
been  for  a  while  brought  into  fellowship  with  his  volume.  This  controversy  is  but 
one  volcano  indicative  of  seas  of  latent  fire  in  the  bosom  of  our  churches.  It  will,  in 
a  few  more  years,  be  hard  to  prove  the  orthodoxy  of  our  churches  if  matters  be  not 
changed.  It  has  manifested  what  existed  already  ;  it  has  dragged  to  light  evils 
which  were  before  unseen. 

"Would  to  God  that  the  day  were  over  when  our  churches  tamely  endure  false 
doctrine  ;  and  would,  moreover,  that  all  champions  of  truth  would  keep  the  one  point 


200  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

in  view,  and  cease  from  all  personalities  !  May  God,  of  His  infinite  mercy,  preserve 
the  right  ;  and  may  those  who  err  from  the  faith  be  brought  to  the  fold  of  Jesus,  and 
be  saved  !  The  old  doctrines  of  free-grace  are  gracious  doctrines  still  ;  there  are 
none  of  these  in  this  book,  what  then  ?  They  are  in  our  hearts,  I  trust  ;  and  the 
outspoken  enunciation  of  them  will  do  ten  times  more  for  these  truths  than  the  high- 
flying language  of  the  pseudo-intellectual  few  can  ever  do  against  them.  This  book 
is  important  only  as  the  hinge  of  a  controversy,  as  such  alone  ought  it  to  excite  our 
minds  ;  but  the  less  we  observe  the  hinge,  and  the  more  we  look  to  the  matter 
itself,   the  more  easy  will  be  our  victory. 

"  As  long  as  the  fight  is  thought  to  be  concerning  a  man,  or  a  book,  the  issue  is 
doubtful,  but  let  it  be  for  God  and  for  His  truth,  and  the  battle  is  the  Lord's.  The 
time  is  come  for  sterner  men  than  the  willows  of  the  stream  can  afford  ;  we  shall  soon 
have  to  handle  truth,  not  with  kid  gloves,  but  with  gauntlets, — the  gauntlets  of  holy 
courage  and  integrity.  Go  on,  ye  warriors  of  the  cross,  for  the  King  is  at  the  head 
of  you.  The  Evening  Star  exhorts  the  ministers  to  stand  last  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Cromwell  and  IMilton  have  made  them  free  ;  but  the  apostle  of  the  Son  of 
Ciod  bids  you  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  you  free.  The 
OLD  Faith  must  be  Triumphant. 

"  C.   H.  Spukgeon." 

Mr.  Lynch  thus  commented  on  this  article  : — "  This  review  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
enjoys  the  credit  with  me  of  being  the  only  thing  on  his  side — that  is,  against  me, — 
that  was  impertinent,  without  being  malevolent.  It  evinced  far  more  ability  and 
appreciation  than  Grant  or  Campbell  had  done,  and  indicated  a  man  whose  eyes,  if 
they  do  not  get  blinded  with  the  fumes  of  that  strong,  but  unwholesome,  incense, 
popularity,  may  glow  with  a  heavenlier  brightness  than  it  seems  to  me  they  have 
yet  done.  Mr.  Spurgeon  concluded  by  remarking  that  '  the  old  faith  must  be 
triumphant,'  in  which  I  entirely  ao-ree  with  him,  doubting  only  whether  he  is  yet 
old  enough  in  experience  of  the  world's  sorrows  and  strifes  to  know  what  the 
old  faith  really  is.  He  says,  'We  shall  soon  have  to  handle  truth,  not  with  kid 
gloves,  but  with  gauntlets, — the  gauntlets  of  holy  courage  and  integrity.'  Aye,  that 
we  shall,  and  some  of  us  now  do  !  And,  perhaps,  the  man  who  has  a  soul  that 
'fights  to  music,' — 

" '  Calm  'mid  the  bewildering  crj', 
Confident  of  victory,' — 

is  the  likeliest  to  have  a  hand  with  a  grip  lor  battle,  and  a  grasp  for  friendship  alike 
strong  and  warm." 

The  controversy  continued  tor  a  long  time  ;    The  Frconan  and   The  II  esleyan 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGrL\PHY.  269 

Times  ]oined  the  other  papers  that  had  supported  Mr.  Lynch  ;  but  so  powerful  was 
the  protest  of  Mr.  Grant  and  Dr.  Campbell,  that  the  Congregational  Union  actually- 
had  to  postpone  its  autumnal  session.  The  ultimate  result  of  this  long-past  "fight  for 
the  faith  "  appears  to  have  been  very  much  the  same  as  followed  the  "  Down-grade  " 
controversy  more  than  thirty  years  later  :  many  ministers,  and  their  people,  too,  were 
led  back  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  from  which  they  had  begun  to  wander ; 
Evangelical  truth  was,  at  least  for  a  time,  more  widely  proclaimed  ;  and,  although 
some  strayed  yet  further  away  from  the  great  central  verities  of  the  inspired  Word, 
yet,  on  the  whole,  the  discussion  was  declared  by  contemporary  and  reliable  witnesses 
to  have  been  productive  of  "  an  untold  amount  of  good  to  the  Church  of  God." 


Nearly  four  years  elapsed  before  the  next  historic  controversy,  which  was 
produced  by  Mr.  Baldwin  Brown's  volume  of  sermons.  The  veteran  Baptist 
minister.  Rev.  J.  Howard  Hinton,  M.A.,  wrote  two  articles,  which  were  published 
in  T/ic  Baptist  lila^aziiic,  March  and  April,  i860,  under  the  title,  "Strictures 
on  some  passages  in  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Brown's  Divine  Life  in  Many  The  con- 
clusion of  his  protest  is  such  a  pattern  and  justification  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
similar  action,  twenty-seven  years  afterwards,  that  it  must  be  inserted  here. 
Mr.    Hinton  wrote  : — 

"  I  ofter  no  apology  for  these  '  Strictures  ',  since  the  matter  on  which  they  are 
made  is  before  the  public.  I  have  written  them  with  a  feeling  of  perfect  respect 
towards  Mr.  Brown  ;  and  I  trust  nothing  inconsistent  with  that  feeling  has  escaped 
from  me.  I  submit  them  respectfully  to  my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  in  '  the 
kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,'  deeply  feeling  the  importance  of  the  subjects 
to  which  they  relate,  and  not  without  hope  that  they  may  be  deemed  worthy  of 
serious  consideration. 

"  To  my  own  conviction,  I  am  pleading  for  vital  Evangelical  truth, — for  the 
truth  ot  God,  and  for  the  souls  of  men.  I  speak  because  I  would  fain  contribute 
somewhat,  however  little,  to  withstand  what  I  take  to  be  the  first  open  inroad, 
into  English  Evangelical  Nonconformist  churches,  of  a  theology  fatally  deficient 
in  the  truth  and  power  of  the  gospel.  Whether  this,  or  any  similar  system  may 
have  privately  diffused  itself  to  any  considerable  extent,  I  neither  know,  insinuate, 
nor  conjecture  ;  but,  assuredly,  I  should  regard  the  prevalence  of  it  as  a  mischief  of 
the  gravest  character  ;  and  whether  I  am  heard  or  not,  I  cannot  but  lift  up  my  voice 
against  it. 

"  It  is  true,  I  am  now  an  old  minister,  and  perhaps  I  ought,  as  is  said  to  have 
been  pleasantly  suggested  by  some  fast  spirit  of  the  rising  generation  of  divines 
concerning  old  ministers  in  general,  to  be  '  hung  up  in  God's  armoury,'  as  the  armour 


270  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

of  ancient  heroes  is  in  the  Tower  ;  but  words  of  truth  and  soberness  may  find  a 
response,  if  breathed  low  h^om  the  verge  of  the  grave.  The  aspect  of  the  times 
emboldens  me.  It  is  not  now,  dear  brethren, — above  all  times,  it  is  not  now,  when 
'  the  end  '  must  be  so  near,  and  when  so  many  cheering  tokens  of  revival  enkindle 
our  hopes,  that  a  perversion,  or  even  a  dilution,  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  should 
find  welcome  or  entrance  among  us  ;  and  I  trust  in  God  it  will  be  given  to  us  to 
'contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints.'" 

The  articles  were  afterwards  reprinted,  and  issued  as  a  pamphlet.  The  review 
of  the  "  Strictures",  published  in  The  Freeman,  was  considered  by  several  prominent 
Baptist  ministers  to  be  of  so  unsatisfactory  a  character  that  seven  of  them  signed  the 
following  joint-protest,  which  duly  appeared  in  the  denominational  paper  on 
April   1 1  : — 

"The  Rev.  J.   B.   Brown,  and  the  Rev.  J.   H.   Hinton. 
"To  the  Editors  of  The  Freeman, 

"  Dear  Sirs, 

"  We  are  constrained  to  address  you  by  considerations  which,  if  we 
may  not  say  they  are  imperative,  appear  to  us  too  urgent  and  weighty  to  be 
resisted.  We  entertain,  however,  so  high  a  sense  of  the  value  of  Iree  and 
unbiassed  criticism,  and  are  so  jealous  of  infringing  on  the  proper  liberty  of  a 
public  journal,  that  we  address  you  with  great  reluctance,  and  only  under  the 
influence  of  what  we  deem  our  duty,  at  once  to  ourselves  and  to  what  we  regard 
as  important  theological  truth. 

"Our  duty  to  ourselves  seems  to  us  to  require  that  we  should,  with  your 
permission,  explicitly  state  in  your  columns  that  the  review,  in  your  last  number,  of 
Mr.  Hinton's  'Strictures'  on  the  recent  work  of  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Brown,  is  so  far  from 
expressing  onr  sentiments  that  we  altogether  disagree  with  the  writer's  estimate, 
both  of  the  theological  principles  Mr.  Brown  avows,  and  of  the  services  which  Mr. 
Hinton  has  rendered  to  Evangelical  truth  by  his  strictures  upon  them.  The  Freeman 
is  so  generally  assumed  to  be  connected  with  the  Baptist  denomination  that,  but  for 
such  a  disclaimer  as  we  now  send  you,  that  review  might  be  supposed  to  speak  the 
sense  of  the  body.  A  more  erroneous  opinion  could  not,  so  far  as  we  know,  be 
entertained.  At  all  events,  our  position  as  Baptist  ministers  is  well  known,  and  we 
speak  for  ourselves. 

"  We  shall  not  indulge  in  any  indefinite  censures  on  the  character  and  tendency 
of  Mr.  Brown's  volume  ;  but  we  feel  constrained  to  say  that  the  passages  on  which 
Mr.  Hinton  founds  his  'Strictures'  contain,  in  our  judgment,  pernicious  error.  We 
would  not  hold  an  author  responsible  for  the  inferences  which  may  seem  to  another 


C.  H.  Sl'UKGEON  S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  ijl 

tairly  deducible  from  his  statements,  and  we  entertain  the  Iiope  that  Mr.  Brown  does 
not  see  the  consequences  which  we  think  inevitably  follow  from  some  of  his 
principles.  But  we  do  not  hesitate  to  avow  our  conviction,  that  both  the  principles 
and  their  consequences,  whether  categorically  stated,  or  involved  in  a  metaphor,  go 
to  subvert  the  whole  scheme  of  God's  moral  government  as  revealed  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  and  with  it  those  precious  truths  which  cluster  round  the  cross  and  centre 
in  it,  and  which,  for  that  reason,  are  most  distinctive  of  the  gospel,  and  most 
fundamental  to  it. 

"In  our  judgment,  therefore,  Mr.  Hinton  has  rendered  a  timely  and  valuable 
service  to  Evangelical  Christianity  by  his  animadversions  on  those  portions  of  Mr. 
Brown's  book  ;  and,  for  our  part,  we  thank  God  that  our  brother's  pen  has  been  so 
well  and  so  ably  employed.  We  are  no  more  lovers  of  controversy  in  the  Church 
than  is  your  reviewer  ;  but  if  errors  subversive  of  the  gospel  are  advocated  by  some 
of  her  ministers,  it  is  the  duty  of  others  to  withstand  them  ;  and  we  honour  Mr. 
Hinton  that,  at  a  period  of  life  when  he  might  be  naturally  desirous  of  repose,  he 
has  stepped  forward  in  the  vindication  and  defence  of  some  of  the  vital  doctrines  of 
the  faith. 

"  Nor,  in  conclusion,  can  we  refrain  from  expressing  our  earnest  hope  that  our 
pulpits  may  be  preserved  from  the  sentiments  which  Mr.  Brown  has  published,  and 
which  wc  cannot  but  fear  your  reviewer  approves.  Without  conjuring  up  any 
'phantasmal  hydra'  of  heterodoxy,  as  your  reviewer  speaks,  and  imagining  that  it  is 
beginning  to  be  rampant  in  our  churches,  which  we  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose  or 
believe,  we  take  the  liberty  of  saying  that  we  trust  our  ministers  will  continue  to  be 
students  of  Howe,  and  Charnock,  and  Hall,  and  Fuller,  rather  than  draw  their 
theology  from  Maurice,  Professor  Scott,  and  others  of  the  same  school,  whom  Mr. 
Brown  so  strongly  recommends. 

"Above  all,  we  desire  affectionately  to  caution  those  in  the  ministry,  who  are 
younger  than  ourselves,  against  that  style  of  preaching  which,  under  the  pretentious 
affectation  of  being  intellectual,  grows  ashamed  of  the  old  and  vulgar  doctrines  of 
man's  guilt,  as  well  as  of  his  total  depravity,  of  Christ's  atonement  and  satisfaction 
for  sin,  of  justification  by  the  imputation  of  His  righteousness  through  faith,  of 
the  new  birth  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  in  a  word,  of  that  scheme 
of  dogmatic  Christian  truth  which  is  popularly  known  under  the  designation 
of  '  the  doctrines  of  grace.'  Those  doctrines  are  dear  to  us  as  epitomising  and 
concentratmg  the  theology  of  the  Bible,  and  as  constituting,  through  the  presence 
and  power  of  the  Christian  Comforter,  the  spiritual  life  of  our  churches. 

"  Pardon  us  in  one  final  word  to  yourselves.  By  whomsoever  the  evil 
work  of  lowering  the  estimate  entertained  of  the  value  of  these  doctrines,  and 
so    diminishing    their    influence,    may    be    perpetrated,    let    it    be    far    from   you   as 


272  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

the  conductors  of  one   of  our   public   denominational   journals,    to   further    it    with 
your  countenance,  or  to  lend  even  the  semblance  of  your  aid. 

"  We  are, 

"  Dear  Sirs, 

"  Yours  very  faithfully, 

'^  Edward  Steane. 
"  Daniel-  Katterns. 
"  C.   H.  Spurgeon. 
"  Charles  Stanford. 
"  W.  G.   Lewis,  Junr. 
"  William  Brock. 
"  Joseph  Angus." 
"  London, 

"  April  9,    i860." 

Fo  this  communication  the  Editors  of  The  Freeman  added  the  following  note  : — 
"  We  have  no  hesitation  in  giving  insertion  to  the  above  letter.  Notwith- 
standing that  it  is  somewhat  unusual,  and  generally  inconvenient,  to  admit 
of  discussion  respecting  reviews,  the  spirit  of  our  brethren  who  have  favoured 
us  with  the  above  letter  is  at  the  same  time  so  excellent,  and  so  kindly  respectful 
to  ourselves,  that  we  should  be  doing  both  ourselves  and  them  an  injustice  if 
we  hesitated  about  admitting  this  expression  of  their  views.  At  the  same  time, 
we  cannot  but  be  somewhat  surprised  that  they  should  have  considered  such 
an  expression  necessary.  In  whatever  sense  The  Freeman  may  be  regarded  as 
'  the  organ  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  we  had  never  been  so  vain  as  to  suppose 
that  the  editoral  '  we  '  in  our  columns  meant  Messrs.  Steane,  Katterns,  Spurgeon, 
Stanford,  Lewis,  Junr.,  Brock,  and  Angus  ;  still  less  had  we  imagined  that  any 
judgment  respecting  a  work,  which  was  formed  and  expressed  by  our  reviewer, 
would  be  regarded  by  anybody  as  the  judgment  of  the  Baptist  denomination. 
The  modesty  of  our  reviewer,  at  least,  is  so  shocked  at  the  very  idea  of  being 
supposed  to  review  in  this  representative  character,  that  he  begs  us  to  state, 
once  for  all,  that  his  judgment  of  the  works  which  come  before  him  is  simply 
his  own,  and  that,  neither  the  brethren  who  have  favoured  us  with  the  above 
letter,  nor  any  other  brethren,  are  at  all  responsible  for  opinions  of  books  which 
probably  they  have  not  seen,  and  about  which,  assuredly,  he  has  not  consulted 
them. 

"  As  to  our  friend's  review  of  Mr.  Brown's  book,  we  do  not  think 
it  is  needful  to  say  anything.  Our  reviewer  has  already  given  his  opinion  of 
that  work   at   considerable   length,    and   his   objections   to   the   volume   were   by  no 


c.    H.    spurgeon's    autobiography.  273 

means  'indefinite.'  Indeed,  he  pointed  out  its  deficiencies,  in  relation  to  tlie 
person  and  work  of  the  Redeemer,  with  a  precision  that  ought,  we  venture  to 
say,  to  have  secured  him  from  the  censures  of  our  brethren.  If  he  fek  it  his 
duty,  as  an  impartial  critic,  to  object  to  some  things,  also,  in  Mr.  Hinton's 
'  Strictures ',  everyone  who  read  the  review  would  see  at  once  that  it  was  not 
the  doctrine  of  the  '  Strictures  '  that  he  had  any  doubt  about, — for  the  '  doctrine  ' 
he  declared  emphatically  to  be  '  important  to  be  upheld,' — but  the  style  and  character 
of  the  '  Strictures  ',  upon  which  he  still  retains  his  own  opinion. 

"We  hope  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  say  that  we  also  'trust' — without 
thinking  we  are  '  taking  a  liberty '  in  saying  so, — that  '  our  ministers  will  continue 
to  be  students  of  Howe,  and  Charnock,  and  Hall,  and  Fuller  ?  We  trust — 
and,  what  is  more,  we  thoronghly  believe — that  our  ministers  will  not  grow 
ashamed  of  '  the  old  '  {we  will  not  venture  to  say,  '  vulgar ')  doctrine  of  man's 
guilt  as  well  as  of  his  total  depravity,  of  Christ's  atonement  and  satisfaction 
for  sin,  of  justification  by  the  imputation  of  His  righteousness  through  faith, 
of  the  new  birth  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  in  a  word,  of  that  scheme 
of  dogmatic  Christian  truth  which  is  popularly  known  under  the  designation 
of  •  the  doctrines  of  grace.'  At  the  same  time,  we  must  be  permitted  still  to 
doubt  whether  '  our  younger  ministers  '  have  given  any  cause  to  their  '  elder ' 
brethren, — amongst  whom,  it  seems,  are  Mr.  Spurgeon,  Mr.  Stanford,  and  Mr. 
Lewis,  Junr., — to  'caution'  them  publicly  against  becoming  'ashamed'  of  these 
doctrines.  To  our  '  younger '  ministers  as  well  as  to  their  '  elders  ',  these  doctrines 
are  'dear.'  In  the  pulpits  of  our  'younger'  ministers,  as  much,  if  not  as  ably 
as  in  those  of  their  elders,  these  doctrines  are  preached.  We  so  far  sympathize 
with  our  reviewer  as  to  hope  that  '  the  last  days  of  our  elder  brethren  may  not 
be  embittered  by  suspicions  of  their  younger  brethren's  orthodoxy,  from  which 
souls  such  as  theirs  must  naturally  recoil.' — Edsl' 

Preaching  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  on  Lord's-day  evening,  April  15, 
from  the  text,  "  For  He  hath  made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin  ;  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him,"  the  Pastor,  in  commencing  his 
discourse,  thus  referred  to  the  burning  question  of  the  hour  : — 

"  Some  time  ago,  an  excellent  lady  sought  an  interview  with  me,  with  the 
object,  as  she  said,  of  enlisting  my  sympathy  upon  the  question  of  '  Anti-Capital 
Punishment.'  I  heard  the  reasons  she  urged  against  hanging  men  who  had 
committed  murder ;  and,  though  they  did  not  convince  me,  I  did  not  seek  to 
answer  them.  She  proposed  that,  when  a  man  committed  murder,  he  should  be 
confined  for  life.  My  remark  was,  that  a  great  many  men,  who  had  been  confined 
half  their  lives,  were  not  a  bit  the  better  for  it,  and  as  for  her  belief  that  they  would 


274  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

necessarily  be  brought  to  repentance,  I  was  afraid  it  was  but  a  dream.  '  Ah  ! ' 
she  said,  good  soul  as  she  was,  '  that  is  because  we  have  been  all  wrong  about 
punishments.  We  punish  people  because  we  think  they  deserve  to  be  punished. 
Now,  we  ought  to  show  them  that  we  love  them  ;  that  we  only  punish  them  to 
make  them  better.'  '  Indeed,  madam,'  I  replied,  '  I  have  heard  that  theory  a  great 
many  times,  and  I  have  seen  much  fine  writing  upon  the  matter,  but  I  am  no 
believer  in  it.  The  design  of  punishment  should  be  amendment,  but  the  ground 
of  punishment  lies  in  the  positive  guilt  of  the  offender.  I  believe  that,  when 
a  man  does  wrong,  he  ought  to  be  punished  for  it,  and  that  there  is  a  guilt  in 
sin  which  justly  merits  punishment.'  She  could  not  see  that.  Sin  was  a  very 
wrong  thing,  but  punishment  was  not  a  proper  idea.  She  thought  that  people 
were  treated  too  cruelly  in  prison,  and  that  they  ought  to  be  taught  that  we 
love  them.  If  they  were  treated  kindly  in  prison,  and  tenderly  dealt  with,  they 
would  grow  so  much  better,  she  was  sure.  With  a  view  of  interpreting  her 
own  theory,  I  said,  '  I  suppose,  then,  you  would  give  criminals  all  sorts  of 
indulgences  in  prison.  Some  great  vagabond,  who  has  committed  burglary  dozens 
of  times, — I  suppose  you  would  let  him  sit  in  an  easy  chair  in  the  evening,  before 
a  nice  fire,  and  mix  him  a  glass  of  spirits  and  water,  and  give  him  his  pipe,  and 
make  him  happy,  to  show  how  much  we  love  him.'  Well,  no,  she  would  not 
give  him  the  spirits  ;  but,  still,  all  the  rest  would  do  him  good.  I  thought  that 
was  a  delightful  picture,  certainly.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  most  prolific  method 
of  cultivating  rogues  which  ingenuity  could  invent.  I  imagine  that  you  could 
grow  any  number  of  thieves  in  that  way  ;  for  it  would  be  a  special  means  of 
propagating  all  manner  of  wickedness.  These  very  beautiful  theories,  to  such  a 
simple  mind  as  mine,  wer3  the  source  of  much  amusement ;  the  idea  of  fondling 
villains,  and  treating  thai/  ./imes  as  if  they  were  the  tumbles  and  falls  of  children, 
made  me  laugh  heartily.  I  fancied  I  saw  the  Government  resigning  its  functions 
to  these  excellent  persons,  and  the  grand  results  of  their  marvellously  kind  ex- 
periments,— the  sword  of  the  magistrate  being  transformed  into  a  gruel-spoon, 
and  the  jail   becoming  a  sweet  retreat  for  people  with  bad  reputations. 

"  Little,  however,  did  I  think  I  should  live  to  see  this  kind  of  stuff  taught  in 
the  pulpit ;  I  had  no  idea  that  there  would  arise  teaching  which  would  bring 
down  God's  moral  government  from  the  solemn  aspect  in  which  Scripture  reveals  it, 
to  a  namby-pamby  sentimentalism,  which  adores  a  deity  destitute  of  every  masculine 
virtue.  But  we  never  know  to-day  what  may  occur  to-morrow.  We  have  lived  to 
see  a  certain  sort  of  men, — thank  God,  they  are  not  Baptists  ! — though  I  am  sorry 
to  say  there  are  a  great  many  Baptists  who  are  beginning  to  follow  in  their  trail, — 
who  seek  to  teach,  nowadays,  that  God  is  a  universal  Father,  and  that  our  ideas  of 
His  dealing  with   the  impenitent  as  a  Judge,    and  not  as  a  Father,   are  remnants 


C.     H.     STURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  275 

of  antiquated  error.  Sin,  according  to  these  men,  is  a  disorder  rather  than  an 
offence,  an  error  rather  than  a  crime.  Love  is  the  only  attribute  they  can  discern, 
and  the  full-orbed  Deity  they  have  not  known.  Some  of  these  men  push  their  way 
very  far  into  the  bogs  and  mire  of  falsehood,  until  they  inform  us  that  eternal 
punishment  is  ridiculed  as  a  dream.  In  fact,  books  now  appear  which  teach  us  that 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  use 
the  word  atonement,  it  is  true ;  but,  in  regard  to  its  meaning,  they  have  removed  the 
ancient  landmark.  They  acknowledge  that  the  Father  has  shown  His  great  love  to 
poor  sinful  man  by  sending  His  Son  ;  but  not  that  God  was  inflexibly  just  in  the 
exhibition  of  His  mercy,  nor  that  He  punished  Christ  on  the  behalf  of  His  people, 
nor  that,  indeed,  God  ever  will  punish  anybody  in  His  wrath,  or  that  there  is 
such  a  thing  as  justice  apart  from  discipline.  Even  sin  and  /icll  are  but  old  words 
employed  henceforth  in  a  new  and  altered  sense.  Those  are  old-fashioned  notions, 
and  we  poor  souls,  who  go  on  talking  about  election  and  imputed  righteousness,  are 
behind  our  time.  Aye,  and  the  gentlemen  who  bring  out  books  on  this  subject 
applaud  Mr.  Maurice,  and  Professor  Scott,  and  the  like,  but  are  too  cowardly  to 
follow  them,  and  boldly  propound  these  sentiments.  These  are  the  new  men  whom 
God  has  sent  down  from  Heaven,  to  tell  us  that  the  apostle  Paul  was  all  wrong, 
that  our  faith  is  vain,  that  we  have  been  quite  mistaken,  that  there  was  no  need  for 
propitiating  blood  to  wash  away  our  sins  ;  that  the  fact  was,  our  sins  needed 
discipline,  but  penal  vengeance  and  righteous  wrath  are  quite  out  of  the  question  ! 
When  I  thus  speak,  I  am  free  to  confess  that  such  ideas  are  not  boldly  taught  by  a 
certain  individual  whose  volume  excites  these  remarks,  but  as  he  puffs  the  books  of 
gross  perverters  of  the  truth,  I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  he  endorses  such 
theology. 

"Well,  brethren.  Lam  happy  to  say  that  sort  of  stuff  has  not  gained  entrance 
into  this  pulpit.  I  dare  say  the  worms  will  eat  the  wood  before '  there  will  be 
anything  of  that  sort  sounded  in  this  place  ;  and  may  these  bones  be  picked  by 
vultures,  and  this  flesh  be  rent  in  sunder  by  lions,  and  may  every  nerve  in  this 
body  suffer  pangs  and  tortures,  ere  these  lips  shall  give  utterance  to  any  such 
doctrines  or  sentiments  !  We  are  content  to  remain  among  the  vulgar  souls  who 
believe  the  old  doctrines  of  grace.  We  are  willing  still  to  be  behind  in  the  great 
march  of  intellect,  and  stand  by  that  unmoving  cross,  which,  like  the  pole  star,  never 
advances,  because  it  never  stirs,  but  always  abides  in  its  place,  the  guide  of  the  soul 
to  Heaven,  the  one  foundation  other  than  which  no  man  can  lay,  and  without 
building  upon  which  no  man  shall  ever  see  the  face  of  God  and  live. 

"  Thus  much  have  I  said  upon  a  matter  which  just  now  is  exciting  controversy. 
It  has  been  my  high  privilege  to  be  associated  with  six  of  our  ablest  brethren  in  the 
ministry,  in  a  letter  of  protest  against  the  countenance  which  a  certain  newspaper 


276  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

seemed  willing  to  lend  to  this  modern  heresy.  We  trust  it  may  be  the  means,  in 
the  hands  of  God,  of  helping  to  check  that  downward  march, — that  wandering  from 
truth  which  seems,  by  a  singular  infatuation,  to  have  unsettled  the  minds  of  some 
brethren  in  our  denomination." 

So  far  as  that  particular  publication  (The  Frceniait)  was  concerned,  the  protest 
was  unavailing  ;  and  a  few  Weeks  later,  Mr.  Spurgeon  forwarded  to  at  least  two 
other  papers  the  following  letter,  which  appears  to  have  been  his  final  contribution 
to  the  controversy  : — 

"  Clapham, 

"  May  21,    i860. 

"  Sir, 

"The  fulfilment  of  irksome  duties  is  the  test  of  sincere  obedience. 
When  pleasure  and  service  are  identical,  it  is  easy  to  be  diligent  in  Heavenly 
business  ;  but  when  fiesh  and  blood  rebel  against  a  known  duty,  it  is  time  to  invoke 
the  aid  of  Divine  grace.  Every  personal  feeling  and  private  affection  must  give 
way  before  the  imperative  demands  of  our  Lord  and  Master.  Contention  for  the 
faith  is  far  less  pleasant  than  communion  with  Christ  ;  but  the  neglect  of  the  precept 
may  involve  the  withdrawal  of  the  privilege. 

"In  the  matter  of  The  Freeman  newspaper,  I  most  sorrowfully  enter  upon  a  work 
as  distasteful  to  my  feelings  as  it  is  inconvenient  to  my  circumstances.  E.xcuses  for 
silence  have  utterly  failed  me.  Although  my  respect  for  the  gentlemen  who  conduct 
that  journal  has  given  me  great  readiness  in  suggesting  arguments  for  peace,  my 
conscience  permits  me  no  longer  to  purchase  peace  at  the  expense  of  the  truths  in 
which  my  soul  finds  its  solace  and  delight.  Private  resentment  I  have  none  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  I  cherish  feelings  of  personal  regard,  which  restrain  me  in  this 
controversy  from  the  use  of  a  more  vigorous  style,  and  seriously  encumber  me  in  the 
conflict  which  lies  before  us.  Can  we  not  honour  the  gentlemen  in  their  private 
capacity,  and  yet  regret  the  fact  that  they  have  officially  occupied  a  position  which 
exposes  them  to  severe  criticism  ?  I  can  honestly  say  that  I  can  meet,  with  cordial 
charity,  many  men  from  whom  I  difter  widely  ;  and  I  never  consider  a  blow  dealt 
against  my  opinions  in  the  light  of  a  personal  attack  ; — nay,  I  respect  an  honest 
antagonist,  and  only  despise  the  man  who  mingles  resentment  with  public  debate. 
We  have  solemn  matters  to  discuss, — in  some  degree,  connected  with  one  of  the 
most  serious  heresies  which  ever  afflicted  the  Christian  Church  ; — and  it  behoves  us 
to  use  language  which  shall  become  the  lips  of  men  who  know  the  value  of  the 
doctrines  upon  which  they  debate  ;  and  it  will  be  our  wisdom  to  cherish  the  spirit 
which  shall  be  in  consonance  with  the  sentiments  which  we  maintain.      Solemnly,  as 


C.     H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRArilY.  277 

in  the  sight  of  God,  I  believe  The  Freeman  to  have  been  very  guilty  ;  but  to  our 
own  Master  we  must  stand  or  fall.  It  is  ours  to  reprove,  but  not  to  condemn  ;  it  will 
be  the  duty  of  the  offender  to  defend,  and  not  to  recriminate. 

"  The  fact  that  seven  brethren  among  the  London  Baptist  ministers,  led  by  one 
of  the  most  venerable  fathers  of  the  denomination,  had  unitedly  dissented  from  their 
opinion  upon  an  important  question,  should  have  had  some  weight  with  the  Editors. 
They  are  not  so  conspicuous  for  learning,  ability,  or  success,  as  to  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  friendly  admonition  ;  and  surely  they  are  not  so  immodest  as  to  hold  in 
contempt  a  solemn  protest  signed  by  brethren  whom  they  are  compelled  to  regard  as 
honoured  servants  of  Christ.  Was  the  document  in  which  that  protest  was  con- 
tained insulting,  contemptuous,  or  unfriendly  ?  Far  from  it.  Was  it  not  written  by 
one  whose  amiable  spirit  might  rather  tempt  him  to  laxity  than  lead  him  to  severity  ? 
What  but  the  most  weighty  reasons  and  powerful  motives  could  compel  the  most 
loving  spirit  in  the  universe,  at  a  time  of  life  when  age  and  painful  infirmity  have 
brought  him  very  low,  to  spend  a  great  part  of  a  weary  night  In  penning  a  deliberate 
protest  against  a  dangerous  evil  ?  This  may  be  a  joke  to  some  men  ;  to  us,  It  was 
as  devout  an  act  as  our  baptism  Into  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  Freely  would  I 
have  signed  that  letter  with  my  blood  had  it  been  needed  ;  and  I  think  I  speak  the 
sentiments  of  all.  We  saw  in  the  matter  before  us  one  of  the  ramifications  of  a 
rleadly  evil,  which  has  commenced  by  polluting  our  literature,  and  may  conclude-  by 
debauching  our  pulpits.  We  wrote  under  a  strong  sense  of  duty  as  In  the  sight  of 
God,  and  there  has  not  been  a  moment  since  in  which  I  would  not  have  signed  It 
again  with  all  my  heart.  We  did  not  attack  The  Freeman  ;  we  only  deprecated  Its 
patronizing  the  new  school  of  theology.  It  Is  true,  we  expressed  our  fear  that  the 
reviewer  was  a  personal  believer  in  the  sentiments  we  denounced  ;  that  fear  has  since 
ripened  into  conviction  ;  but  It  did  not  involve  a  suspicion  of  the  Editors,  as  v»e  had 
reason  to  believe  the  reviewer  to  be  a  person  totally  distinct  from  the  managers  of  the 
journal.  At  the  risk  of  being  considered  egotistical,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  a 
more  judicious,  generous,  gentlemanly,  and  Christian  letter  was  never  written.  It 
was  worthy  of  Its  author,  and  honourable  to  the  cause  it  vindicated. 

"But  now  the  evil  begins.  How,  think  you,  was  the  admirable  document 
received  ?  Why,  Sir,  it  was  supplemented  by  an  editorial  postscript,  the  marrow  of 
which  consisted  In  a  joke  upon  the  juvenility  of  three  of  the  brethren,  who  are  yet 
old  enough  to  know  some  who  are  their  juniors  in  years,  and  a  few  who  are  far  more 
their  juniors  in  decency.  A  ghasdy  smile,  like  that  which  flickers  upon  the  face  of  a 
man  who  is  confused  and  confounded,  but  who  longs  to  conceal  his  fears  with  the  mask 
of  levity,  was  the  only  answer  we  received.  We  were  dealing  with  Divine  realities, 
and  with  verities  which  concern  the  very  basis  of  our  holy  religion  ;  the  reply  was 
a  play  upon  a  harmless  sentence,  highly  appropriate  In  the  mouth  of  most  of  the 


2/8  C.    H.    spurgeon's    autobiograpiiv. 

sev^en,  and  not  indecorous  upon  the  lip  of  any  one  of  them.  This  absurd  trifling  was 
esteemed  to  be  so  terrible  a  piece  of  artillery  that  it  must  needs  be  fired  off  again  at 
Exeter  Hall  on  the  missionary  occasion,  to  the  disgust  of  many  of  the  audience,  by 
a  gentleman  who  was  so  alarmed  at  the  stupendous  engine  with  which  he  was 
entrusted,  that  the  echo  of  his  own  voice  seemed  to  startle  him,  and  one  word  from 
an  indignant  hearer  extorted  a  trembling  apology. 

"  A  silence  ensued.  Discretion  mounted  guard,  and  hushed  alike  review  and 
article,  save  one  faint  growl,  which  showed  the  animus  within  more  surely  than  the 
most  laboured  writing.  We  will  not  hint  that  conscience  was  at  work  ;  and  yet  this 
is  a  better  supposition  than  some  have  hinted  at.  However,  the  quietude  was  at 
last  broken,  and  The  Frecinaii  came  forth  in  a  new  and  unexpected  character.  It 
refused  to  be  styled  an  organ,  or  even  to  be  suspected  of  such  a  relation  to  the 
body.  Who  in  his  senses  could  have  thought  it  possible  that  a  paper  could 
represent  even  seven  men,  much  less  a  denomination  ?  The  question  was  a 
singularly  refreshing  one.  We  had  certainly  been  unreasonable  enough  to  assist 
in  the  first  circulation  of  the  paper,  and  some  of  us  in  its  continued  maintenance, 
under  the  hallucination  that  it  was,  in  some  sense,  the  representative  of  the 
denomination. 

"In  this  belief  we  wrote  our  letter.  We  now  find  that  we  were  all  the 
victims  of  a  mistaken,  if  not  ridicukus,  idea.  It  is  true  that  the  irrational 
conception  of  a  representative  n^^wspaper  is  embodied  in  scores  of  journals  which 
are  the  advocates  and  organs  of  bodies  political  and  religious  ;  but  facts,  however 
stubborn,  must  give  way  before  the  powerful  satire  of  The  Freeman.  It  is  equally 
true  that  the  circulation  of  that  paper  is  mainly  owing  to  the  absurd  notion  which 
our  Editors  so  merrily  repudiate  ;  but,  when  a  protest  presents  no  other  assailable 
point,  common  sense  and  interest  are  alike  invaluable,  and  must  be  slaughtered  if 
they  stand  in  the  way  of  revenge.  Oh,  sad  result  of  this  most  rebellious  protest ! 
It  has  achieved  its  purpose  in  a  manner  the  most  unexpected.  We  thought  to 
screen  ourselves  from  complicity  with  error,  and  it  is  done  more  effectually  than 
we  could  desire  when  The  Freeman  rejects  the  representative  standing  which 
was  its  greatest  honour  and  the  very  breath  of  its  nostrils.  This  is  committing 
suicide  in  order  to  be  avenged.  The  worst  enemies  of  the  paper  could  not 
have  uttered  a  sentiment  more  damaging  to  it  than  that  which  it  reiterates  ad 
nauseam.  The  Member  has  taken  his  seat  in  the  Parliament  of  the  Press,  but  he  is 
not  now  the  representative  of  the  men  whose  suffrages  he  sought.  He  laughs  in 
your  face  if  you  have  the  impertinence  to  show  him  kindness  in  that  capacity.  Be 
it  so,  Mr.  Freeman  ;  follow  your  own  sweet  will,  and  utter  your  own  opinions  without 
restraint.  From  this  day  forth,  we  will  never  slander  you  by  the  supposition  that 
there  is  any  connection  between  you  and  our  churches  ;  you  are  your  own  spokesman, 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


279 


and  not  ours.  We  would  not  have  touched  the  subject  if  we  had  not  beheved 
ourselves  compromised  ;  and,  as  we  find  we  were  labouring  under  a  delusion,  now 
happily  dispelled,  there  is  no  need  for  protesting  in  a  friendly  manner.  The  field  of 
battle  now  divides  us  ;  and,  if  the  old  Lutheran  spirit  be  not  buried  for  ever,  we  will 
be  clear  of  the  blood  of  all  men  by  clearing  ourselves  each  day  from  the  errors  of 
the  times. 

"  But,  Sir,  it  seems  that,  in  the  performance  of  The  Freeman,  tragedy  must 
always  be  followed  by  a  farce.  This  marvellously-free  actor  has  mounted  the 
judgment-seat,  put  on  the  wig  and  gown,  and  tried  the  brethren  who  gently  rebuked 
him,  as  if  they  had  been  guilty  of  misdemeanour.  In  mimic  justice,  he  condemns  ; 
but,  in  comic  mercy,  he  offers  pardon.  Forgive  me,  Sir,  if  I  leave  my  place  as  a 
minister  for  a  moment,  and  answer  these  brethren  according  to  their  folly.  What 
brilliant  wits  these  men  are  !  They  seem  to  e.xpect  the  whole  seven  of  us  to  perform 
a  penitential  pilgrimage  to  The  Freeman  office,  and,  with  ropes  about  our  necks. 
plead  for  pardon  at  the  hands  of  the  offended  Editors.  In  truth,  the  offence  is  very 
grievous,  and  demands  punishment  the  most  exemplary.  It  is  all  in  vain  to  plead 
that  witnessing  was  of  old  an  honoured  service,  and  that  protesting  is  sanctioned  by 
the  very  name  of  our  Protestant  theology.  It  is  equally  in  vain  to  hint  that  the 
opinions  of  seven  ministers  may  be,  in  some  cases,  equal  in  value  to  the  dicta  of  two 
or  even  three  Editors.  This  is  not  to  the  point  ;  the  criminals  are  guilty,  and  let 
them  plead  so,  that  mercy  may  step  in.  It  is  a  memorable  proof  of  the  longsuffering 
of  a  paper  which,  not  long  ago,  pretended  to  exercise  a  sort  of  archiepiscopal  over- 
sight and  authority,  that  the  seven  culprits  were  not  executed  upon  the  spot,  and 
that  space  for  repentance  is  still  allowed.  We  are  assured  (and  I  do  not  doubt  it) 
that  our  retractation,  when  tendered,  will  be  received  with  all  the  lovingkindness 
with  which  the  yearning  bowels  of  our  tender  parent  are  so  abundantly  surcharged. 
Oh,  hasten  to  be  wise,  my  erring  brethren,  sorrowful  comrades  in  crime  !  We  have 
but  to  confess  our  great  iniquity,  and  the  forgiveness,  which  we  so  ill  deserve,  shall 
be  poured  in  unctuous  abundance  upon  our  heads,  low  as  they  must  be  in  the  very 
dust.  The  Freeman,  glorious  in  magnanimity,  stretches  out  to  you  the  hand  of 
mercy  ;  run  into  its  gracious  arms,  and  be  smothered  by  its  suffocating  compliments. 
By  dint  of  steady  obedience,  you  may  recover  your  lost  position,  and  once  more 
receive  the  paternal  approbation.  Yes,  gentle  Freeman  ;  when  we  retract,  when  we 
ask  your  pardon,  when  we  confess  that  our  protest  was  anything  but  a  needed  tribute 
to  the  soundness  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  and  a  most  proper  warning  to  yourself, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  put  us  all  in  your  portrait  gallery,  from  which  some  of  our 
ablest  ministers  have  prayed  to  be  excluded,  and  dandle  us  upon  your  knee  in 
blissful  companionship  with  Kingsley  and  J.  B.  Brown. 

"  However  agreeable  this  comedy  may  be  to    The  Freeman.  I   am  completely 


28o  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

weary  with  it,  and  once  more  return  to  the  sobriety  which  our  subject  demands.  I  must 
now  refer  to  the  injurious  insinuations  with  which  we  have  been  personally  assailed. 
The  Freeman  affirms  that  some  of  us  had  never  read  the  book  to  which  we  referred. 
I  am  sure  I  had  both  read  and  marked  it  ;  but,  as  to  inwardly  digesting  it,  I  am  not 
nearly  enough  allied  to  an  ostrich  to  be  able  to  accomplish  that  feat.  Next,  it  unfairly 
takes  it  for  granted  that  the  letter  of  Dr.  Angus  was  a  joint  affair,  although  it  is  his 
writing,  and  his  alone.  Admirable  as  it  is,  that  letter  is  no  more  the  composition  of 
the  whole  seven  than  is  this  epistle,  which  the  Editor  will  take  care  to  observe  is  mine, 
and  mine  alone. 

"A  worse  act  than  this  imperiously  demands  enquiry.  The  Freeman  must 
make  good  a  statement  to  which  I  am  now  about  to  refer,  or  tacitly  admit  that 
its  courage  and  truthfulness  have  vanished.  It  dares  to  say  that  one  of  its  had 
previously  approved  of  Mr.  Browns  book.  Name  the  man.  Why  stab  the  whole 
seven  in  the  dark?  In  the  name  of  common  honesty,  not  to  say  religion,  point  out 
the  individual.  None  of  us  would  take  the  pains  to  deny  an  accusation  so 
indefinitely  worded.  The  charge  is  so  serious  that,  to  whomsoever  it  may  be  falsely 
applied,  it  will  be  his  duty,  for  the  protection  of  society,  to  visit  the  author  of  the 
libel  with  the  fullest  punishment  the  laws  of  his  country  can  enforce,  unless  an  ample 
apology  be  forthcoming.  The  imputation  is  tantamount  to  calling  a  man  dishonest, 
if  not  a  liar,  and  what  remains  to  any  of  us  when  such  charges  are  allowed  to  pass 
unchallenged  ? 

"  This  last  item  is  weighty  enough  to  allow  me  to  pause  for  a  reply.  I  have 
written  to  you  rather  than  to  The  Freeman,  because  this  last  matter  is  a  barrier  to 
communication  too  serious  to  be  overleaped. 

"  I  am.  Sir, 

"Yours  very  truly, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon." 

Mr,   Brown  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  Editors  of  The  Freeman : — 

"  Sirs, 

"  I  hold  no  controversy  with  the  six  Baptist  ministers  who  have  joined 
Mr.  Spurgeon  in  a  deliberate  effort  to  prejudice  my  ministry,  and  the  book  which 
I  have  recently  published  on  The  Divine  Life  in  Man. 

"  So  many  Christian  brethren  have  testified  to  me  that  they  find  the  book  full  of 
the  light  of  those  truths  which  I  am  said  to  weaken  or  deny,  that  I  am  able  to  bear 
with  great  composure  the  judgment  of  my  critics. 

"  I  content  myself  with  declaring,  in  the  belief  that  there  are  men  in  the  Baptist 
ministry  candid  enough  to  find   my  words  credible,  that  the  doctrines  of  grace,  in 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  281 

the  broad,  full,  Evangelic  sense  of  the  term,  have  for  nearly  twenty  years  been  the 
great  theme  of  my  ministry,  and,  if  I  know  my  own  heart,  will  be  till  I  die. 

"  I  pray  these  seven  to  bear  more  faithful  witness  to  their  Master's  words  in  their 
ministry,  than  they  have  borne  to  mine,  and  am, 

"  Yours  faithfully, 

"  J.   Baldwin  Brown." 
"  P.S. — Is  it   too   much   to   expect   that   those   papers   which    have   copied  the 
protest,  will  do  me  the  justice  to  insert  this  brief  reply  .-* " 

One  of  the  papers  which  published  Mr.  Brown's  letter  added  this  significant 
comment  : — 

"While  we  feel  it  to  be  a  matter  of  simple  justice  to  give  insertion  to  Mr. 
Baldwin  Brown's  letter,  it  is,  to  say  the  least  of  the  matter,  not  a  little  remarkable 
that  Mr.  Brown  should  hold  to  '  the  doctrines  of  grace,  in  the  broad,  full,  Evanoelic 
sense  of  the  term,'  as  he  here  professes  to  do  ;  and  that  he  should,  at  th^same  time, 
declare  his  full  appreciation  of  Professors  Maurice  and  Scott,  as  model  teachers  of 
truth,  whose  published  works  are  most  decidedly  antagonistic  to,  and  subversive  of, 
the  fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel." 

"  The  Inquirer,  a  Unitarian  paper,  in  an  article  on  the  controversy,  fully  justified 
the  protests  of  Mr.  Hinton,  and  his  seven  brother-ministers,  when  it  said  : — "  It  is 
not  a  little  encouraging  to  us,  who  have  maintained  a  faithful  confession  through  long 
years  of  ill-report,  to  find  the  most  thoughtful  and  earnest  of  the  younger  school  of 
orthodox  mmisters  gradually  and  painfully  struggling,  amid  much  opposition,  towards 
the  recognition  of  the  same  conclusions  which  we  have  long  advocated  as  the  highest 
truth  of  the  Scriptures.  With  deep  sympathy  do  we  watch  their  struggles,  praying 
that  they  may  have  strength  from  above  to  quit  themselves  like  true  men  in  the 
contest,  and  to  follow  the  zvhoie  trutJi  faithfully  wheresoever  it  may  lead  them." 

The  Dial,  in  quoting  this  extract,  very  pertinently  adds  : — "  Mr.  Brown  will 
probably  say,  '  Save  me  from  my  friends  ! '  "  The  writers  in  the  Unitarian  paper  could 
see  clearly  enough  whither  his  teaching  was  tending,  just  as,  a  whole  generation 
afterwards,  their  successors  plainly  perceived  the  drift  of  the  "  Down-gradeism  "  which 
broke  the  heart  ot  the  brave  champion  of  the  faith, — C.  H.  Spurgeon, — who  counted 
not  even  his  lite  dear  unto  him  if  he  might,  in  any  degree,  stem  the  torrent  that  was 
bearing  away  so  much  that  he  regarded  as  the  priceless  truth  of  the  living  God. 


CHAPTER    LIV. 


"  Itlmsburglj  loust"  auti  €<\xiit\t 


By    Mrs.    C.    H.    Spurgeon. 


HUSBAND  AND   WIFE   IN   THt.   GARDEN. 


^1  WELL-KNOWN  writer  of  to-day,  in  one  of  his  pleasant  little 
sketches,  says  : — ''  There  are  certain  scenes  in  one's  early  life 
which  come  before  us  in  a  somewhat  confused  fashion.  One 
is  quite  sure  of  the  facts  ;  but  where  to  place  them  as  to  time, 
and  how  to  connect  them  with  relation  to  other  facts,  is  not 
easy.  It  is  a  curious  medley  that  memory  gives  back  to  one, 
passing"  quickly  '  from  grave  to  gay,  from  lively  to  severe.'  " 

This  exactly  describes  my  experience  while  trying  to  chronicle  the  further 
events  of  our  early  married  life.  I  am  embarrassed  with  the  multitude  and 
variety  of  the  recollections  which  crowd  upon  me ;  but  many  of  them  are 
not  unportant  enough  to  be  written  down,  and  some  are  so  disjointed  that  I 
fail   to  reproduce  them  connectedly.       I   seem  to  have  before  me  a  mass  ot   bright, 


284  C.     H.     SPURGEON's     AUTOBIOGRArilY. 

shining  webs  of  precious  memories,  hopelessly  disarranged  and  entwisted  ;  and  the 
question  is, — How  can  I  bring  these  rebellious  threads  into  something  like  order 
and  beauty  ?  I  remember  a  story  of  my  childhood's  days,  in  which  a  little  maiden — 
for  a  punishment  of  untidy  habits,  I  think, — was  given  a  basket  full  of  tangled 
skeins  of  silk,  and  told  that  she  must,  by  a  certain  time,  have  them  all  sorted  out, 
and  laid  in  regular  rows.  The  fairy, "  Order ",  pitying  her  distress,  came  to  her 
relief ;  and,  with  a  touch  of  her  wand,  did  the  work  deftly,  and  thus  disposed  of 
all  her  difficulties.  I  want  better  help  than  a  fairy  could  give.  "Order"  and 
dates  are  some  little  aid  to  me  ;  but,  beside  this,  I  have  earnestly  asked  to 
have  brought  to  my  full  remembrance  only  those  incidents,  the  relation  of  which 
shall  not  tend  so  much  to  gratify  natural  curiosity,  as  to  render  some  immediate 
and  lasting  benefit  to  those  who  read  them.  My  husband's  whole  life  was  "an 
example  of  the  believers,  in  word,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in  spirit,  in  faith,  in 
purity  ;  "  and  if  in  any  of  the  pages  I  have  written,  I  have  failed  to  set  this  bright 
example  forth  with  due  prominence,  the  fault  is  mine,  and  will  be  deeply  grieved 
over ; — but  if  I  have  at  all  succeeded  in  magnifying  the  grace  of  God  in  him, 
it  is  simply  because  the  Lord,  for  His  own  glory,  has  given  skill  for  the  service. 
I  can  say  with  Ezra,  "  I  was  strengthened  as  the  hand  of  the  Lord  my  God 
was  upon  me." 

We  left  the  New  Kent  Road,  in  1857,  to  reside  in  Nightingale  Lane,  Clapham. 
This  was  then  a  pretty  and  rural,  but  comparatively  unknown,  region  ;  and  our 
delight  in  the  change  and  interest  it  afforded,  was  unbounded.  The  sketch  on 
page  282  (the  original  being  a  water-colour  by  our  late  friend,  Mr.  Sherrin,)  gives  a 
good  idea  of  the  umbrageous  beauty  of  the  locality.  On  the  right  hand  of  the  road, 
if  the  visitor  came  from  Clapham,  stretched  a  glorious  park,  which,  with  its 
residential  mansion,  was  ttien  the  property  of  J.  Dent,  Esq.  Our  house  stood  on 
the  left  side,  facing  the  park  and  its  palings  ;  it  was  just  below  and  behind  the  spot 
where  the  angle  of  a  cottage  wall  is  shown  in  the  picture.  I  do  not  think  there  were 
more  than  five  or  six  houses,  beside  our  own,  the  whole  length  of  the  "  Lane  "  from 
one  end  to  the  other  !  This  secludedness  was  a  great  attraction  to  my  beloved,  for 
he  felt  the  need  of  absolute  quiet  and  rest  after  the  labours  and  toils  of  the  day  ;  and 
he  found  them  here.  We  could  walk  abroad,  too,  in  those  days,  in  the  leafy  lanes, 
without  fear  of  being  accosted  by  too  many  people,  and  this  privilege  brought  us  very 
great  pleasure.  In  one  of  these  wanderings,  an  incident  occurred  which  my  dear 
husband  has  so  tenderly  described,  and  so  aptly  turned  into  an  encouragement  for  a 
seeking  sinner,  that  I  introduce  it  here,  as  a  diamond  among  my  rock-crystals, 
praying  that  some  longing  soul  may  find  it,  appropriate  it,  and  be  rich  for  ever  : — 

"  We  were  walking  up  the  lane  near  where  I  live,  and  there  was  a  poor  woman. 


c.    H.    sturgeon's    autobiography. 


2«5 


who  stopped  us.  She  spoke  in  French.  This  poor  soul  had  some  children  at 
Guildford,  and  she  was  wanting  to  find  her  way  to  them,  but  did  not  know  a  single 
sentence  of  English.  She  had  knocked  at  the  doors  of  all  the  gentlemen's  houses 
down  the  lane,  and  of  course  the  servants  could  do  nothing  for  her,  for  they  did  not 
understand  a  word  she  said.      So  she  went  from  one  place  to  another,  and  at  last  she 


■'  111  LKN^IUHl.ll    H(H>i:/     NK.II  MM.ALt    LANK    (I'ROM     VIEW;. 

did  not  know  what  would  become  of  her.  She  had  some  thirty  miles  to  walk  ;  she 
did  not  mind  that,  but  then,  she  could  not  tell  which  way  to  go  ;  so  I  suppose  she 
had  made  up  her  mind  she  would  ask  everybody.  All  she  knew  was,  she  had 
written  on  a  piece  of  paper  the  word  'Guildford,'  and  she  held  it  up,  and  began  to 
ask  in  French  which  was  the  rioht  road. 


286  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  When,  at  last,  she  had  met  with  someone  who  could  tell  her  the  path  she 
must  take,  beautifully  did  she  express  both  her  distress  and  her  gratitude  ;  she 
said  she  felt  like  a  poor  little  bird  who  was  hunted  about,  and  did  not  know  how 
to  find  her  way  to  the  nest.  She  poured  a  thousand  blessings  on  us  when  we  told 
her  the  way  ;  and,  I  thought, — how  much  this  is  like  the  sinner  when  he  wants  to  find 
the  way  to  Heaven  !  All  he  knows  is,  he  wants  Christ  ;  but  where  to  find  Him, 
and  how  to  get  to  Him,  he  cannot  tell  ;  and  he  knocks,  first  at  one  door,  and 
then  at  another  ;  and  perhaps  the  minister  at  the  place  of  worship  does  not  know 
the  language  of  human  sympathy.  He  cannot  comprehend  the  sinner's  need,  for 
there  are  many  servants  in  my  Master's  house,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  who  do  not  under- 
stand the  language  of  a  sinner's  cry.  O  sinner,  thou  shalt  surely  find  Christ  though 
thou  knowest  not  how  to  find  Him  !  He  will  ask  thee,  'Whom  seekest  thou  ?'  and 
thou  wilt  answer,  '  I  seek  Jesus,'  and  He  will  say,  '  I  that  speak  unto  thee  am  He.' 
I  am  much  mistaken  if  He  who  speaks  in  thy  heart  is  not  the  very  Jesus  whom  thou 
art  seeking.  His  speaking  in  thy  heart  is  a  token  of  His  love.  Trust  Him,  believe 
in  Him,  and  Thou  shalt  be  saved." 

The  house  was  a  very  old  one  ;  and,  in  its  first  estate,  I  should  judge  it  had  been  an 
eight-roomed  cottage,  with  underground  cellars  afterwards  turned  into  kitchens.  Some 
bygone  owner  had  built  another  story,  and  thrown  the  eight  small  rooms  into  four 
better-sized  ones  ;  but,  even  with  this  improvement,  they  were  narrow  and  incom- 
modious. To  us,  however,  they  were  then  all  that  we  could  desire,  and  the  large 
garden  made  up  for  all  the  inconveniences  indoors.  Oh,  what  a  delightsome  place 
we  thought  it,  though  it  was  a  very  wilderness  through  long  neglect, — the  blackberry 
bushes  impertinently  asserting  themselves  to  be  trees,  and  the  fruit  trees  running 
wild  for  want  of  the  pruning-knife  !  It  was  all  the  more  interesting  to  us  in  this 
sweet  confusion  and  artlessness  because  we  had  the  happy  task  of  bringing  it 
gradually  into  accord  with  our  ideas  of  what  a  garden  should  be.  I  must  admit  that 
we  made  many  absurd  mistakes  both  in  house  and  garden  management,  in  those 
young  days  of  ours  ;  but  what  did  that  matter  ?  No  two  birds  ever  felt  more 
e.xquisite  joy  in  building  their  nest  in  the  fork  of  a  tree-branch,  than  did  we  in 
planning  and  placing,  altering  and  rearranging  our  pretty  country  home. 

What  a  boon  such  a  retreat  was  to  my  beloved,  can  be  well  understood  by  all 
zealous  workers  who  know  the  penalties  exacted  by  weary  brains  and  jaded  powers. 
At  this  time,  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermons  were  having  a  phenomenal  sale  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  the  generous  arrangements  of  the  publishers,  together  with  the 
increased  income  from  the  church,  made  possible  the  purchase  of  the  freehold  of  this 
house  and  grounds  ;  and  the  fact  of  the  place  being  old  and  long  untenanted,  enabled 
him  to  obtain  it  on  very  easy  terms.      It  had  some  queer  corners  in  it,  which   we 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  287 

peopled  with  mysterious  shadows  for  the  mere  gratification  of  afterwards  dispersmg 
them.  A  large  bre-whouse  sort  of  erection  at  the  side  was  a  great  puzzle  to  us,  with 
its  flagged  floor,  its  great  boiler  in  one  corner,  and  its  curious  little  rooms,  like  cells, 
which  we  converted  into  apple-chambers. 

But  the  sensation  of  the  place  was  the  well,  which  altogether  fascinated  us,  and 
did  not  withdraw  its  spell  till  the  demolition  of  the  old  house  broke  the  charm  by 
covering  it  up  entirely,  and  leaving  only  a  common  pump-handle  "en  evidence."  It 
was  a  wonderful  well  ;  the  water  came  up  pure,  sparkling,  and  cold  as  ice.  The  story 
of  it  was,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  as  follows  : — A  former  occupant  of  the  house  had 
resolved,  at  any  cost,  to  have  water  at  that  particular  spot.  So  he  hired  well-diggers, 
and  they  began  to  dig.  At  one  hundred  feet  depth,  they  stopped.  There  was  no 
sign  of  water.  "Go  on,"  said  the  master;  "you  must  go  deeper."  They  dug 
another  two  hundred  feet,  and  came  to  the  solid  rock!  "  Now,"  said  he,  "you  must 
bore,  for  I  am  going  to  have  water  here  if  I  bore  to  the  centre  ot  the  earth  for  it." 
So  they  bored,  and  bored,  and  got  quite  disheartened,  for  they  had  now  gone  460  feet 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  !  But  the  master  insisted  that  they  should  continue  their 
efforts  ;  and,  one  day,  they  came  up  as  usual  to  have  their  dinner,  but  they  never 
went  down  to  the  rock  again,  for  the  water  had  burst  through,  and  covered  up  their 
tools,  and  risen  high  in  the  well  !  Was  not  the  man  right  glad  that  he  had  not 
relinquished  his  object,  and  was  he  not  well  rewarded  for  his  perseverance  ?  He  was 
a  benefactor  to  succeeding  generations,  too,  for  the  delicious  water  had  quite  a  fame 
round  about  the  place,  and  residents  in  our  time  used  to  send  and  beg  the  favour  of 
a  large  jugful  of  "  water  from  the  well." 

Many  years  afterwards,  when  the  main  drainage  works  were  in  progress,  its 
generous  abundance  diminished  ;  and  when  the  new  house  was  built,  though  its 
services  were  still  secured,  it  lost,  as  I  have  said,  all  its  ancient  attractiveness, — and 
danger.  Yes,  there  was  danger  in  the  old  well,  as  we  painfully  realized,  one  day, 
when  a  man,  while  making  some  repairs,  a  short  way  down,  lost  his  footing,  and  fell 
through  many  of  the  wooden  stages  (erected  inside  the  well,  and  reached  by  ladders), 
and  would  have  been  precipitated  into  the  deep  water,  with  a  very  faint  chance  of 
life,  but  that,  by  God's  great  mercy,  he  was  caught  by  the  arms  on  one  of  the  stagings, 
and  there  hung  suspended,  in  horror  and  darkness,  till  his  mates  could  reach  and 
rescue  him  !  I  can  never  forget  my  dear  husband's  anguish  of  mind  on  that  occasion. 
He  paced  to  and  fro,  before  the  well-house  door,  in  an  agony  of  suspense.  We  were 
all  white  and  trembling,  and  sick  with  frightful  fears.  But  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
avert  the  threatened  tragedy;  and,  after  a  time,  the  man  was  brought  up  trom  the 
depths,  to  see  again  the  blessed  light  of  the  sun.  He  looked  more  like  a  dead  than 
a  living  creature  when  he  was  safely  on  terra  finna  ;  but,  beyond  being  much  bruised, 
he  was  uninjured.     After  that,  my  dear  husband  allowed  no  one  to  go  down  the  well 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


without  having  a  stout  rope  round  his  body,  securely  fastened,  or  held  by  other  men. 
We  never  asjain  had  an  accident  there. 


'HELENSBURGH    HOUSE"    (BACK    VIEW) 


In  the  little  parlour  of  this  old  house, — see  the  window  of  the  room  to  the  left 
of  the  porch  in  the  picture, — there  occurred,  one  day,  an  incident  of  much  interest, 
which,  though  it  concerns  a  notable  and  still  living  author  (Mr.  John  Ruskin),  I 
think  I  may  be  permitted  to  reveal.  It  will  but  disclose  the  existence,  at  that  time, 
in  a  very  noble  and  gifted  heart,  of  a  sweet  spring  of  brotherly  love,  which  has  long 
remained  sealed-up  and  hidden.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1858,  my  beloved  had 
a  serious  illness,  which  kept  him  out  of  his  pulpit  for  three  Sabbaths.  In  those 
early  days,  Mr.  Ruskin  was  not  only  a  frequent  attendant  at  the  Surrey  Music   Hall 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  289 

services,  and  a  loving  friend  to  my  dear  husband,  but  I  believe  he  was  also  an  ardent 
admirer  of  him  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  When  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  partly 
convalescent,  but  still  painfully  weak,  Mr.  Ruskin,  knowing  of  his  condition,  called 
to  see  him.  My  beloved  was  downstairs  for  the  first  time  that  day,  and  was  lying  on 
the  couch  in  the  room  I  have  indicated.  How  well  I  remember  the  intense  love 
and  devotion  displayed  by  Mr.  Ruskin,  as  he  threw  himself  on  his  knees  by  the  dear 
patient's  side,  and  embraced  him  with  tender  affection  and  tears.  "  My  brother,  my 
dear  brother,"  he  said,  "how  grieved  I  am  to  see  you  thus!"  His  sorrow  and 
sympathy  were  most  touching  and  comforting.  He  had  brought  with  him  two 
charming  engravings, — gems  of  artistic  taste,  which  still  adorn  the  walls  of  one  of 
the  rooms  at  "  Westwood," — and  some  bottles  of  wine  of  a  rare  vintage,  which  he 
hoped  would  prove  a  cordial  to  the  sufferer's  much-weakened  frame.  My  husband 
was  greatly  moved  by  the  love  and  consideration  so  graciously  expressed,  and  he 
very  often  referred  to  it  afterwards  in  grateful  appreciation  ;  especially  when,  in  later 
years,  there  came  a  change  of  feeling  on  Mr.  Ruskin's  part,  and  he  strongly 
repudiated  some  of  the  theological  opinions  to  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  closely  clung  to 
the  end  of  his  life. 

I  am  not  sure  that  it  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  I  have  now  described,  or 
at  some  other  time,  that  Mr.  Ruskin  told  my  husband  a  very  remarkable  story,  for 
the  truth  of  which  he  himself  could  answer.  I  think  they  had  been  talking  together 
of  the  interpositions  of  God's  providence,  of  His  care  over  His  people,  and  of  the 
singular  deliverances  which  He  had  vouchsafed  to  them  when  in  danger  or  distress  ; 
and  Mr.  Ruskin  then  related,  with  an  impassioned  tenderness  and  power  which  my 
pen  cannot  possibly  imitate,  the  following  instance  of  direct  and  Divine  preservation 
from  a  dreadful  death. 

A  Christian  gentleman,  a  widower,  with  several  little  ones,  was  in  treaty  for 
the  occupancy  of  an  old  farm-house  in  the  country,  for  the  sake  of  his  children's 
health.  One  day,  he  took  them  to  see  their  new  residence,  before  finally  removing 
into  it.  While  he  talked  with  the  landlord  or  agent,  the  young  people  set  off 
on  a  tour  of  inspection,  and  scampered  here,  there,  and  everywhere  over  the 
garden  and  grounds.  Then  they  proceeded  to  examine  the  house,  and  rushed 
up  and  down  stairs,  looking  into  every  room,  dancing  with  delight,  full  of  fun 
and  frolic,  and  shouting  out  their  joy  over  every  new  discovery.  Presently, 
when  they  seemed  to  have  exhausted  the  wonders  of  the  old  house,  one  of  them 
suggested  that  the  underground  premises  had  not  yet  been  explored,  and  must 
therefore  be  visited  at  once.  So  the  merry  band  went  helter-skelter  in  search 
of  a  way  below,  found  a  door  at  the  head  of  some  dark  stairs,  and  were  rushing 
down    them    at    great   speed,    when,     midway,    they   suddenly    stopped    in    startled 


290  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

amazement,  for,  standing  at  the  bottom  of  the  steps,  they  saw  their  mother,  with 
outstretched  arms  and  loving  gesture,  waving  them  back,  and  silently  forbidding  their 
further  passage.  With  a  cry  of  mingled  tear  and  joy,  they  turned,  and  fled  in  haste 
to  their  father,  telling  him  that  they  had  seen  "  Mother,"  that  she  had  smiled  lovingly 
at  them,  but  had  eagerly  motioned  them  to  go  back.  In  utter  astonishment,  the 
father  listened  to  the  children's  tale,  and  at  once  perceived  that  something  unusual 
had  happened.  Search  was  made,  and  close  at  the  foot  of  those  narrow,  gloomy 
stairs,  they  found  a  deep  and  open  well,  entirely  unguarded,  into  which,  in  their  mad 
rush,  every  child  must  inevitably  have  fallen  and  perished,  had  not  the  Lord  in  His 
mercy  interposed. 

Stories  of  the  supernatural  are  seldom  worthy  of  credence  ;  but,  in  this  case, 
both  my  dear  husband  and  Mr.  Ruskin  were  convinced  that  God  permitted  the 
appearance  of  their  mother  to  those  dear  children,  in  order  to  save  them  from  a 
terrible  death  ;  and  that  nothing  else,  and  nothing  less  than  such  a  vision  could  ha\e 
attained  this  object,  and  prevented  the  calamity. 

I  find,  from  data  kindly  supplied  to  me  by  Pastor  J.  W.  Davies,  of  Lee,  that  on 
one  occasion,  "under  the  Oak"  at  "Westwood,"  the  question  was  asked  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  "  Do  you  believe  in  supernatural  visitations } "  and  for  answer  he 
repeated  this  story  ot  Mr.  Ruskin's.  The  students  listened  with  eager  interest,  and 
then  promptly  requested  their  President  to  give  his  theory  of  the  nature  of  the 
appearance.  He  replied  that  he  could  not  explain  it,  but  he  thought  that  God  had 
impressed  on  the  retina  of  the  children's  eyes  an  object  which  would  naturally  cause 
them  to  return  at  once  to  their  father,  thus  ensuring  their  safety. 

There  have  been  many  other  well-authenticated  instances  of  similar  appearances 
permitted  by  the  Lord  in  seasons  of  special  danger  to  His  children  ;  and  the  calm 
and  reverent  consideration  of  such  a  subject,  by  devout  minds,  might  have  the  happy 
effect  of  bringing  the  soul  very  close  to  the  veil  which  separates  the  things  that  are 
seen,  and  are  temporal,  from  the  things  that  are  not  seen,  and  are  eternal. 


CHAPTER     LV. 


"  l^clciisbui's!)  l^ousc"  auiJ  c§aitcn  {Contmuedy 


FATHER   AND   SONS    IN    lllh 


I  took  my  little  boys,  a  few  years  ago,  to  a  churchyard,  and  we  carried  with  us  a  piece  of  tape. 
I  told  them  to  measure  some  of  the  little  graves,  for  I  wanted  them  to  learn  practically  how  soon  they 
might  die.  They  found  there  were  several  which  were  shorter  than  they  themselves  were.  Ah !  there 
are  many  who  are  taken  away  before  they  are  your  age,  my  young  friends,  and  why  may  not  you  be  so 
taken  ?  It  is  early  with  you,  but  it  is  not  too  early  for  Death  to  be  even  now  pointing  his  darts  at  you. — 
C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  to  senior  scholars,  at  John  Street  Chapel,  Bedford  Row,  May  i,  1867. 


E  lived  in  the  dear  old  house  in  Nightingale  Lane  for  many  happy 
years  ;  and,  looking  back  upon  them  from  this  distance  of  time, 
I  think  they  must  have  been  the  least  shadowed  by  care  and 
sorrow  of  all  the  years  of  our  married  life.  We  were  both  young, 
and  full  of  high  spirits.  We  had  fairly  good  health,  and  devoutly 
loved  each  other.  Our  children  grew  apace  in  the  sweet  country 
air,  and  my  whole  time  and  strength  were  given  to  advance  my  dear  husband's 
welfare  and  happiness.  I  deemed  it  my  joy  and  privilege  to  be  ever  at  his  side, 
accompanying  him  on  many  of  his  preaching  journeys,  nursing  him  in  his 
occasional  illnesses, — his  delighted  companion  during  his  holiday  trips,  always 
watching  over  and  tending  him  with  the  enthusiasm  and  sympathy  which  my  great 


292  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

love  for  him  inspired.  I  mention  this,  not  to  suggest  any  sort  of  merit  on  my  part, 
but  simply  that  I  may  here  record  my  heartfelt  gratitude  to  God  that,  for  a  period  of 
ten  blessed  years,  1  was  permitted  to  encircle  him  with  all  the  comforting  care  and 
tender  affection  which  it  was  in  a  wife's  power  to  bestow.  Afterwards,  God  ordered 
it  otherwise.  He  saw  fit  to  reverse  our  position  to  each  other  ;  and  for  a  long,  long- 
season,  suffering  instead  of  service  became  my  daily  portion,  and  the  care  of 
comforting  a  sick  wife  fell  upon  my  beloved.  How  lovingly  he  fulfilled  so  sorrowful 
a  duty,  will  be  fully  seen  in  future  pages. 


HUSBAND   AND   WIFE   AT    HOME. 


I  have  already  said  what  a  great  joy  the  garden  was  to  us.  At  first,  there  was 
always  something  fresh  and  new  to  interest  us  ;  and  when,  by  degrees,  the  novelty 
of  its  possession  wore  off,  then  we  loved  it  all  the  better,  because  we  knew  more 
about  it.  Here  my  dear  husband  enjoyed,  not  only  rest  and  recreation  for  the  body, 
but  stimulus  and  quickening  for  the  mind.  Original  illustrations  for  sermons, — 
side-lights  on  texts, — metaphors  and  parables,  whereby  the  hearts  of  hearers  might 
be  moved  or  impressed, — all  these  Mr.  Spurgeon  found  ready  to  his  hand  in  this 
old  pleasaunce,  which  ungrudgingly  laid  its  stores  at  his  feet.  It  mattered  not  to 
him  how  commonplace  was  the  figure  which  could  supply  a  barb  or  a  feather  to  the 
arrow  which  he  desiened  to  send  straisfht  home  to  the  heart  of  a  saint  or  a  sinner. 


C.      H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  293 

He  did  not  disdain  to  employ  the  simplest  incidents  or  similes  to  further  the 
important  purposes  of  illustration  and  instruction. 

He  himself  gives  a  notable  instance  of  the  working  of  this  life-long  habit,  in 
one  oi  the  lectures  to  his  students,  where  he  says  : — "  If  you  keep  your  eyes  open, 
you  will  not  see  even  a  dog  following  his  master,  nor  a  mouse  peeping  up  from  his 
hole,  nor  will  you  hear  even  a  gentle  scratching  behind  the  wainscot,  without  getting 
something  to  weave  into  your  sermons  if  your  faculties  are  all  on  the  alert.  When 
you  go  home  to-night,  and  sit  by  your  fireside,  you  ought  not  to  be  able  to  take  up 
your  domestic  cat  without  finding  that  which  will  furnish  you  with  an  illustration. 
How  soft  are  pussy's  pads,  and  yet,  in  a  moment,  if  she  is  angered,  how  sharp  will  be 
her  claws  !  How  like  to  temptation,  soft  and  gentle  when  it  first  cometh  to  us,  but 
how  deadly,  how  damnable  the  wounds  it  causeth  ere  long  ' 

"  I  recollect  using,  with  very  considerable  effect  in  a  sermon  in  the  Tabernacle, 
an  incident  that  occurred  in  my  own  garden.  There  was  a  dog  which  was  in  the 
habit  of  coming  through  the  fence,  and  scratching  in  my  flower-beds,  to  the  manifest 
spoiling  of  the  gardener's  toil  and  temper.  Walking  in  the  garden,  one  Saturday 
afternoon,  and  preparing  my  sermon  for  the  iollowing  day,  I  saw  the  four  footed 
creature, — rather  a  scurvy  specimen,  by-the-by, — and  having  a  walking-stick  in  my 
hand,  I  threw  it  at  him  with  all  my  might,  at  the  same  time  giving  him  some  good 
advice  about  going  home.  Now,  what  should  my  canine  friend  do  but  turn  round, 
pick  up  the  stick  in  his  mouth,  bring  it,  and  lay  it  down  al  my  feet,  wagging  his 
tail  all  the  while  in  expectation  of  my  thanks  and  kind  words  !  Of  course,  you  do 
not  suppose  that  I  kicked  him,  or  threw  the  stick  at  him  any  more.  I  felt  quite 
ashamed  of  myself,  and  told  him  that  he  was  welcome  to  stay  as  long  as  he  liked, 
and  to  come  as  often  as  he  pleased.  There  was  an  instance  of  the  power  of  non- 
resistance,  submission,  patience,  and  trust,  in  overcoming  even  righteous  anger.  I 
used  that  illustration  in  preaching  the  ne.xt  day,  and  I  did  not  feel  that  I  had  at  all 
degraded  myself  by  telling  the  story." 

If  my  memory  does  not  play  me  false,  there  used  to  be  sundry  crusts,  or  even 
bones,  secredy  conveyed  to  that  mongrel  cur  after  this  memorable  encounter. 

Here,  too,  the  young  Pastor  could  peacefully  enjoy  all  the  ordinary  sights  and 
sounds  of  an  open  space  in  the  country.  The  song  of  birds  was  sweetest  music  to 
him,  and  the  commonest  flowers  gave  him  joy,  because  they  both  revealed  to  him 
the  love  of  his  Father's  heart.  "When  I  go  into  my  garden,"  he  once  said,  referring 
to  this  same  old  place  of  which  I  am  writing,  "  I  have  a  choir  around  me  in  the 
trees.  They  do  not  wear  surplices,  for  their  §ong  is  not  artificial  and  official.  Some 
of  them  are  clothed  in  glossy  black,  but  they  carol  like  little  angels  ;  they  sing  the 
sun  up,  and  wake  me  at  break  of  day  ;  and  they  warble  on  till  the  last  red  ray  of  the 


294 


C.      H.      SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


sun  has  departed,  still  singing  out  from  bush  and  tree  the  praises  of  their  God. 
And  all  the  flowers, — the  primroses  that  are  almost  gone, — convey  to  my  heart 
deep  meanings  concerning  God  till  the  last  one  shuts  his  eye.  And  now  the 
mio-nonette,  and  the  wallflowers,  and  the  lilac,  and  the  guelder-roses,  and  a  host  of 
sweet  beauties  are  pouring  out  their  incense  of  perfume,  as  if  they  said,  '  Thank  the 
God  that  made  us  !      Blessed  be  His  Name  !     The  earth  is  full  of  His  goodness.'  " 

On  another  occasion  he  wrote  : — "On  summer  evenings,  the  queen  of  our  little 
kino-dom  spreads  a  banquet  in  our  great  green  saloon  which  the  vulgar  call  a  lawn  ; 
it  is  opposite  the  parlour  window,  and  her  guests  punctually  arrive,  and  cheerfully 
partake,  while  their  hostess  rejoices  to  gaze  upon  them.  Some  of  them  are  now  so 
tame  that,  when  fresh  provision  is  brought  out  to  them,  they  take  no  more  notice  of 
the  lady-servitor  than  a  child  at  table  does  of  a  servant  who  brings  in  a  fresh  joint. 
We  do  not  allow  a  gun  in  our  garden,  feeling  that  we  can  afford  to  pay  a  few 
cherries  for  a  great  deal  of  music  ;  and  we  have  now  quite  a  lordly  party  ol  thrushes, 
blackbirds,  and  starlings  upon  the  lawn,  with  a  parliament  of  sparrows,  chaffinches, 
robins,  and  other  minor  prophets.  Our  summer-house  is  occupied  by  a  pair  of  blue 
martins,  which  chase  our  big  cat  out  of  the  garden  by  dashing  swiftly  across  his 
head  one  after  the  other,  till  he  is  utterlv  bewildered,  and  makes  a  bolt  of  it." 


He  was  no  insignificant  enemy,  as  the  accompanying  fjiithful  likeness  of  him 
will  prove  ;  yet  again  and  again  have  I,  too,  seen  him  reduced  to  abject  fear  by  the 
little  creatures  who  were  bravely  defending  their  home.  He  was  a  splendid  specimen 
of  Fc/is  domestica.  and  a  great  favourite  with  his  master.  He  weighed  nearly 
eighteen  pounds,  and  was  singularly  intelligent  and  affectionate.      He  had  a  trick  of 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  295 

helping  himself  to  milk,  which  highly  diverted  Mr.  Spurgeon.  His  depredations 
were  carried  on  for  some  time  before  the  culprit  was  discovered  ;  but  there  was  so 
serious  a  loss  of  milk  in  the  usual  morning  supply,  that  a  watch  was  set  to  see  what 
became  of  it,  since  a  thief  of  some  sort  was  an  uncomfortable  certainty.  Judge  of 
the  spy's  surprise,  when  he  saw  this  great  creature  march  slowly  across  the  yard, 
push  open  the  lid  of  the  can,  insert  his  huge  paw  into  it,  and  deliberately  lick  the 
creamy  member  till  it  needed  recoating  by  another  dip  !  This  process  was  repeated 
till  puss  was  satisfied,  and  all  the  while  he  showed  no  fear  of  punishment,  or  sense 
ol   wrong-doing. 

When  Mr.  Spurgeon  heard  of  this  escapade,  he  was  much  amused,  and  had 
the  cat  and  a  can  of  milk  brought  to  him  that  he  might  see  "  how  it  was  done." 
Dick  was  nothing  loth  to  show  him,  and  thereafter  became  quite  a  hero  in  his 
master's  eyes  !  He  would  try  to  induce  him  to  show  off  this  trick  at  the  tea-table, 
when  guests  were  present  ;  and  if  Uick  indulged  him  by  a  repetition  of  the  per- 
formance, he  would  greatly  applaud  and  pet  him. 

There  were  some  curiosities  of  ornamentation  in  this  old  garden  of  ours.  The 
pulpit  stairs,  pictured  in  Vol.  I.,  page  367,  led  up  to  a  breezy  and  delightful  seat 
iii  the  heart  ot  the  willow  tree  ;  and  there,  in  summer-time,  we  could  always  be  sure 
of  a  shadow  trom  the  heat.  However  sultry  the  weather  might  be,  there  were  cool 
and  gentle  zephyrs  frolicking  amid  the  branches,  and  waiting  to  fan  the  hot  cheeks 
(jf  those  who  cared  to  climb  to  their  playground.  We  never  knew  the  cause  of  this 
singular  movement  of  the  air  in  that  particular  spot,  but  it  was  a  very  pleasant  fact, 
and  "  the  sound  of  a  going"  in  the  big  tree  was  one  of  our  most  delightful  mysteries. 

We  had  also  what  I  should  imagine  must  be  a  very  unusual  addition  to  the 
charms  of  a  Baptist  minister's  garden, — the  font  out  of  a  High  Church  building, 
which  one  of  the  early  students  secured  for  Dissenting  worship  when  it  was  vacated 
by  its  Ritualistic  congregation  for  a  more  imposing  structure.  My  dear  husband 
used  to  point  it  out  to  visitors,  calling  it  "  one  of  the  spoils  of  the  Holy  War,"  and  I 
am  sure  he  heartily  rejoiced  that,  in  its  changed  position,  it  was  at  least  unable  ever 
again  to  assist  in  deluding  people  into  the  errors  of  baptismal  regeneration. 

As  I  am  writing,  there  flashes  across  my  mind  the  remembrance  of  a  great 
surprise  in  the  adornment  (!)  of  our  garden  which  once  awaited  us  on  our  return  from 
a  Continental  trip.  After  the  bustle  and  joy  of  the  home-coming,  of  asking  and 
answering  innumerable  questions,  of  kissing  and  petting  the  boys,  and  generally 
making  ourselves  amiable,  we  strolled  into  the  garden,  to  renew  our  acquaintance 
with  its  old-fashioned  enticements  and  delights.  We  thought  it  looked  very  quiet, 
peaceful,  and  lovely  ;  and  we'felt  the  sweetness  ot  God's  mercy  to  us,  in  bringing  us 


296 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


back  in  safety  to  such  a  fair  and  comely  home.  But  our  serenity  was  to  be  quickly 
disturbed  Close  by  the  spot  where  Mr.  Spurgeon  interviewed  the  litde  dog,  there 
were  some  steps  leading  under  an  archway  to  slightly  lower  ground,  and  two  large 
vases  were  placed,  one  on  each  side  of  the  descent.  When  we  came  near  to  this 
turn  in  the  path,  we  saw  before  us  a  sight  which  nearly  took  our  breath  away  ;  our 
amazement  was  so  great  that  we  stood  for  a  minute  or  two  without  speaking,  looking 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  then  at  the  innocent  vases  which  caused  us  such 
consternation.  Someone  had  painted  them  a  bright  blue,  relieved  Jiere  and  there 
with  yellow  ! 

"Who  could  have  been  guilty  of  such  Vandalism?"  we  wondered.  Fresh 
from  the  land  of  art  and  artists,  and  from  beholding  all  that  skill  and  good  taste 
combined  could  provide  of  beauty  of  design  and  charm  of  colouring  in  every 
small  detail  of  decoration  and  embellishment,  our  recoil  from  our  disfigured 
belongings  can  be  easilv  imagined.      Passing  round  the  garden,  we  found  more  stone 


THE  GARDEN   WHERE    UlL    iLi.NI    STOOD. 


or  stucco  work  treated  in  the  same  way, — the  font  inclndcd !  We  made  enquiries 
within  the  house,  and  learned  that  these  brilliant  tints  were  intended  to  be  a  special 
"Welcome  Home  "  to  the  travellers  from  the  hands  of  our  gardener,  who  thought  to 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArilY.  297 

give  us  immense  pleasure  by  the  contemplation  of  his  artistic  skill  !  Unfortunate 
man  !  Still  more  unfortunate  possessors  of  the  too-gaily-bedecked  garden  !  I  cannot 
remember  when  the  gardener  was  shown  his  error,  nor  how  soon  the  unsightly 
ornaments  were  restored  _ to  their  original  purity;  but  I  know  that  only  dear 
Mr.  Spurgeon  could  have  successfully  negotiated  such  a  delicate  piece  of  business' 
as  to  secure  for  them  a  return  to  their  former  whiteness  without,  by  a  single  word, 
hurting  the  feelings  of  the  man  who  had  unwittingly  wrought  the  mischief. 

Every  Saturday  morning,  for  a  good  many  years,  the  quiet  seclusion  of  our 
happy  home  was  changed  into  a  scene  of  rather  noisy  activity  m  consequence  of  the 
visits  of  the  early  students  of  the  Pastors'  College,  who  came  to  spend  an  hour  or 
two  with  their  President.  First,  one  young  brother  ;  then,  two  ,"  a  little  later,  three  ; 
and,  by-and-by,  quite  a  company  of  these  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  marched 
down  to  Nightingale  Lane  for  a  season  of  special  drill  under  the  direction  of  their 
loved  and  loving  leader.  They  were  the  forerunners  of  successive  generations  of 
"our  own  men"  who  were  to  be  influenced  throughout  their  whole  lives  by  being 
brought  into  close  personal  contact  with  him  who  was  neither  the  last  nor  the  least 
of  the  Puritans.  The  earliest  "  Record  of  the  Lord's  Work  in  connection  with  the 
Pastors'  College,"  written  in  1863  by  Professor  Fergusson,  contained  the  following 
reference  to  these  visits  : — 

"Whilst  resident  at  Mr.  Rogers'  house,  once  every  week  the  students  assembled 
at  that  of  the  Pastor,  and  were  there  instructed  in  theology,  pastoral  duty,  preaching, 
and  other  practical  subjects.  Here  was  the  nucleus  of  the  present  Monday  and 
Friday  classes,  conducted  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  himself,  in  which  his  wide  experience  in 
church  matters  is  presented  to  the  young  men,  and  furnishes  them  with  the  most 
essential  preparation  for  their  future  work."  I  may  add,  that  here  was  also  the 
nucleus  of  those  never-to-be-forgotten  Lectures  to  my  Students,  w'hich  still  continue 
to  be  of  untold  value  in  the  equipment  of  Christian  ministers  of  all  denominations, 
and  which  are  among  the  most  precious  monuments  of  the  peerless  President's 
consecrated  genius,   wit,  and  wisdom. 


As  an  appropriate  ending  to  this  chapter,  I  have  inserted,  in  facsimile,  the 
beautiful  love-song  which  my  dear  husband  wrote  at  Hull,  during  one  of  his  many 
evangelistic  journeys,  and  which  reached  me  at  "  Helensburgh  House,"  one  happy 
morning  in  September,  1865.  None  can  be  e.xpected  to  feel  the  same  rapturous 
delight  in  the  sweet  verses  as  I  did  when  I  first  read  them  ;  I  was  far  more  proud 
of  them  than   I  should  have  been  of  chams  of  goid  or  strings  of  pearls  ;  and  they 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


have  still  the  power  to  move  my  soul  to  an  overwhelming  tenderness  both  of 
memory  and  anticipation  ; — but  they  may  at  least  touch  a  chord  of  sympathy  in 
some  loving  heart,  and  set  it  trembling  with  the  tones  of  the  long-forgotten  music 
of  bygone  years. 


C^-tA-e,^    /2L.     cJ^^-ae-    <^»^"'^Co<3'Z   ^ct,-t^;r  c-,,^  '  / 

{^^^  jLc^^C'  ^.^e  ,.^^X^     /^  ^   ^  ^  , 


C.   H.  Sl'URGEON  S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  2QQ 

^^l..^  ^j¥^^^^^^       cC^     ^^^^££     ^^^--.^^,^ 
/^i"-^   /^^  c^  ...r:^.  ^«,<^y  <fZ<xJ^  .^..e^. 


^_y/<»-4^-^<-«-'i-    ^iC-t-^^v-T-e^  .fyn^ 


CHAPTER     LVI. 


URING  Mr.  Spurgeon's  illness,  mentioned  on  page  288,  he  wrote 
the  following  letters,  which  are  interesting,  not  only  for  their  own 
sake,  but  because  they  are  probably  the  first  of  that  long  series  of 
epistles  from  the  sick  room,  or  from  the  sunny  South,  in  which  the 
beloved   Pastor  manifested  his  deep  affection  and  tender  care   for 


the  larg-e  dock  committed  to  his  charg-e 


"  Clapham, 

"October  26th,    1858. 
"  Beloved  Friends  and  Kindred  in  Christ, 

"The  days  seem  like  weeks,  and  the  weeks  seem  like  months,  since  I 
went  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord.  My  heart  and  my  flesh  are  crying  out  for  the 
assembly  of  the  saints.  Oh,  how  I  long  to  hear  once  more  the  solemn  shout  of  the 
festal  throng,  who,  with  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise,  keep  holy  day  !  I  am  slowly 
rallying.  My  great  struggle  now  is  with  weakness.  I  feel  as  if  my  frail  bark  had 
weathered  a  heavy  storm  which  has  made  every  timber  creak.  Do  not  attribute  this 
illness  to  my  having  laboured  too  hard  for  my  Master.  For  His  dear  sake,  I  would 
that  I  may  yet  be  able  to  labour  more.  Such  toils  as  might  be  hardly  noticed  in  the 
camp,  for  the  service  of  one's  country,  would  excite  astonishment  in  the  Church,  for 
the  service  of  our  God. 

"  And  now,  I  entreat  you,  for  love's  sake,  to  continue  in  prayer  for  me.  When  ye 
find  access  to  God,  remember  me.  Mind,  it  is  not  by  the  words  of  your  mouth,  nor 
yet  by  the  cravings  of  your  heart,  but  it  is  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ  you  must 
draw  nigh  to  God.  And  when  you  are  in  His  sweet  presence,  and  are  bedewed  with 
His  holy  anointing,  then  pour  out  your  souls  before  Him,  and  make  mention  of  me 
in  your  supplications. 

"  Yours,  to  love  and  serve  in  the  gospel, 

"  C.   H.  Spurgeon." 


302  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

"  Clapham, 

"  November  2nd,  1858 

"  Dearly-beloved    Friends, 

"  I  am  a  prisoner  still.  Weakness  has  succeeded  pain,  and  languor  of 
mind  is  the  distressing  result  of  this  prostration  of  my  physical  powers.  It  is  the 
Lord's  doing.  In  some  sense,  I  might  say  with  Paul,  '  I  am  a  prisoner  of  Jesus 
Christ.'  But,  ah  !  my  bonds  are  more  easy  and  less  honourable  to  wear  than  his. 
Instead  of  a  dungeon,  my  lot  is  cast  in  an  abode  of  comfort.  I  am  not  restrained 
from  my  accustomed  ministry  by  a  chain  forged  by  man,  but  by  the  silken  cord  of 
God's  providence  ;  no  rough  jailer,  but  loving  relatives  and  friends  attend  upon  me 
m  these  tedious  hours  of  my  bondage.  I  beseech  you  therefore,  my  beloved,  let 
your  many  prayers  to  God  on  my  behalf  be  each  and  all  mingled  with  thanksgiving. 
Gratitude  should  ever  be  used  in  devotion,  like  salt  of  old  was  in  sacrifice,  '  without 
prescribing  how  much.' 

"And  now,  though  unable  to  stand  in  the  pulpit,  I  will  endeavour  to  give  you 
a  short  address, — or  rather,  I  will  attempt  to  e.xpress  the  kindlings  of  my  heart  in  a 
few  broken  sentences. 

"  And,  first,  to  you  my  well-beloved  and  trusty  brethren  and  sisters  in  Christ, 
and  in  the  family  tie  of  church-fellowship  ;  to  you  I  tender  my  fondest  regards,  my 
sincerest  thanks,  my  sweetest  love.  I  feel  refreshed  by  your  sympathy,  and  my 
heart  is  overwhelmed  at  the  estimation  in  which  you  hold  me.  It  brings  the  hot 
blush  to  my  cheek,  and  well  it  may.  Tenderly  as  a  husband  thinks  of  the  doting 
affection  of  his  wife,  as  the  father  receives  the  fond  homage  of  his  children,  as  a 
brother  when  he  is  held  in  honour  by  all  the  family  circle, — so  tenderly,  and  even 
more  tenderly,  I  remember  your  care  of  me.  The  tone  of  your  supplications  during 
my  affliction  has  made  me  beyond  measure  thankful.  I  rejoice  that  you  have,  with 
humble  submission,  kissed  the  rod,  not  impatiently  asking  for  my  recovery,  but 
meekly  acquiescing  in  the  providence  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  craving  most  of  all 
that  the  Lord  would  sanctify  the  pains  of  your  Pastor,  and  guard  the  flock  with 
His  own  watchful  eye.  '  Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  unto  you  through  the 
knowledge  of  God,  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord.' 

"  Yet  again,  m  the  still  chamber  of  retirement,  I  an.xiously  remember  some  who 
would  have  been,  ere  this,  baptized  on  a  profession  of  their  faith,  and  received  into 
membership  with  the  church,  had  not  my  health  been  thus  impaired.  Be  not  fretful 
concerning  this  delay;  accept  it  as  an  ordained  trial  of  your  patience.  If  a  farmer 
has  a  field  of  corn  severed  by  the  sickle  from  its  native  earth,  but  not  yet  housed  in 
the  garner,  is  he  not  concerned  lest  he  suffer  loss  }'  How  much  more,  as  a  minister 
of  Christ,  am  I  concerned  for  you, — the  converts  God  hath  given  me  !  O  beloved,  be 
steadfast !    Commit  not  the  great  sin  of  apostacy.     Beware  lest  Satan  take  advantage 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  303 

of  you:  'for  we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices.'  Draw  not  back.  It  is  written 
in  the  law,  '  No  devoted  thing,  that  a  man  shall  devote  unto  the  Lord  ot  all  that  he 
hath,  shall  be  sold  or  redeemed  :  every  devoted  thing  is  most  holy  unto  the  Lord.' 
The  Israelite  might  not  take  back  for  his  own  use  the  beast  that  he  had  dedicated 
from  his  tlock  or  his  herd  for  an  offering  unto  the  Lord  ;  far  less  may  the  Christian, 
when  he  hath  resolved  to  yield  up  his  heart,  his  life,  his  soul,  to  Jesus,  withhold  any 
part  of  the  sacrifice.  I  write  not  thus  to  grieve  you.  Think  not  that  my  jealousy 
bodes  a  suspicion,  but  rather  that  it  betokens  my  love.  '  We  are  not  ot  them  who 
draw  back  unto  perdition  ;  but  of  them  that  believe  to  the  saving  of  the  soul.'  '  My 
little  children,  these  things  write  I  unto  you,  that  ye  sin  not.' 

"  To  those  who  have  worshipped  with  us,  during  the  past  two  years,  in  the 
Surrey  Music  Hall,  the  preacher  sends  his  greetings  and  his  love.  Ye  have  heard 
how  the  prophet  Samuel  set  up  a  stone,  anci  called  the  name  of  it  Ebenezer, 
saying,  '  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us.'  That  stone  marked  the  place  where 
the  Lord  gave  the  children  of  Israel  a  great  victory  over  the  Philistines  ;  but  it 
likewise  marked  the  very  place  where,  twenty  years  before,  the  Israelites  were 
defeated,  and  the  ark  of  God  was  taken.  Let  us  rejoice,  O  my  people,  with 
trembling!  Two  years  ago,  the  Music  Hall  was  the  scene  of  such  discomfiture,  such 
dire  calamity  and  death,  as  we  hardly  dare  to  think  of.  Surely  that  was  the  night  of 
my  heart's  bitterest  anguish.  '  Howbeit  our  God  turned  the  curse  into  a  blessing.' 
For  ninety-nine  successive  Lord's-days  was  I  enabled  to  supply  the  pulpit  ;  no 
congregation  could  have  been  more  evenly  sustained  ;  never  were  sermons  more 
widely  echoed.  God  has  owned  these  services  to  the  quickening  of  many  souls,  to 
the  establishing  of  many  in  our  most  holy  faith,  and  by  them,  through  His  goodness, 
hath  the  blessed  Spirit  stirred  up  many  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  to  a 
righteous  emulation.  '  According  to  this  time  it  shall  be  said.  What  hath  God 
wrought  !  '  Ah,  sirs  !  if  ye  knew  in  what  fear  we  began,  and  with  what  anxiety 
we  have  continued, — if  ye  knew  the  unrequited  exertions  of  those  beloved  brethren, 
whose  names  are  unknown  to  fame,  but  whose  good  offices  were  essential  to  keep 
the  place  open, — if  ye  knew,  once  more,  how  many  a  time  your  minister  has 
prostrated  himself  as  a  broken-hearted  sinner  before  God  to  renew  his  first  vows 
of  unreserved  self-dedication, — if  ye  knew  these  things,  ye  would  not  be  backward 
in  adopting  the  psalmist's  ascription  of  praise,  '  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us, 
but  unto  Thy  Name  give  glory.'  'Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast, 
unmovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that 
your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the   Lord.' 

"  Yet  I  have  other  friends.  They  are  scattered  for  and  wide  throughout  this 
country,  and  the  sister  isles.  To  you  also  let  me  write  a  word.  Ye  have  received 
me  most  kindly  ;  faster  friendships  were  surely  never  made  in  fewer  hours  than  I  have 


304  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

cemented  with  some  of  you.  Ye  are  my  spiritual  kith  and  kin.  I  take  you  to 
record  that  my  God  hath  graciously  proportioned  my  strength  to  my  days,  while  I 
have  been  among  you  '  in  labours  more  abundant.'  When  I  have  laboured  most  for 
His  glory,  I  have  feasted  most  on  the  provisions  of  His  grace.  And,  blessed  be 
God,  when  ofttimes  called  to  visit  a  people  heretofore  unknown  to  me,  He  hath 
given  me  the  key  of  David,  to  unlock  the  secret  springs  of  your  heart ;  nay,  rather, 
He  holdeth  the  key  in  His  own  hand  ;  He  openeth,  and  no  man  can  shut.  Keep, 
beloved,  the  Word  of  His  patience,  and  He  will  keep  you  '  from  the  hour  of  temptation, 
which  shall  come  upon  all  the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth.' 

"  Finally,  my  brethren,  I  am  cheered  and  comforted  beyond  measure  by  the 
joyous  hope  that,  on  the  coming  Sabbath,  I  shall  again  appear  among  you.  This 
prospect  is  as  oil  to  my  bones  ;  and,  although  I  cannot  hope  to  lulfil  my  ministry 
with  my  wonted  vigour,  yet  to  attempt  to  address  you  will  be  to  me  as  strengthening 
medicine,  a  tonic  to  my  fluttering  heart.      '  Brethren,  pray  for  us.' 

"  Yours  in  covenant, 

•  "C.     H.    SrURGEON." 


In  the  early  years  of  his  London  ministry,  it  was  Mr.  Spurgeon's  custom  to 
write  an  annual  letter  to  his  people.  This  series  of  pastoral  episdes,  from  1857  to 
1862,  covers  rather  more  than  the  period  described  in  this  volume,  and  gives  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  progress  of  the  work  from  the  memorable  night  of  the 
great  catastrophe  in  the  Music  Hall  to  the  happy  settlement  of  the  congregation 
in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle.  All  of  the  letters  show  the  Pastor's  intense 
desire  for  the  growth  in  grace  of  the  brethren  and  sisters  in  fellowship  with  the 
church,  and  for  the  ingathering  of  those  who  were  still  "  out  of  the  way."  With 
the  exception  of  the  last  one,  they  were  all  addressed  "To  the  Church  in  New  Park 
Street,"  so  it  is  only  necessary  to  give  the  date  of  the  year  to  which  each  one  belongs. 

1857. 

"  Dearly-beloved, 

"  We  have  hitherto  been  assisted  by  our  Covenant  Head  ;  let  us  pause 
and  thank  Him.  Dark  have  been  some  of  the  dealings  of  providence  towards  us  ; 
but  however  much  we  may  lament,  we  cannot  alter,  let  us  therefore  give  our  time 
to  action  rather  than  regret. 

"  Our  numbers  have  been  multiplied,  and  our  zeal  maintained  ;  for  this  let  us  be 
grateful.  And  now  that  we  enter  upon  another  period  of  time,  what  shall  we  do  in 
it  ?  Let  our  answer  be,  that,  through  God's  grace,  we  will  be  devoted  to  His  cause, 
and  seek  out  means    of   glorifying   Him.      Our   hearts   are    set    upon    A    Larger 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  305 

Tabernacle.  Will  we  not  labour  to  immortalize  this  year  by  laying  the  foundation 
stone  thereof?  I  am  persuaded  that  God  demands  it  ;  will  we  not  delight  to  give 
Him  all  His  cause  requires.'* 

"  The  Lord  has  been  on  our  side,  and  through  much  opposition  He  has 
preserved  us  unscathed.  Let  us  build  Him  a  house  to  His  honour,  which  will  be  the 
means  ot  making  known  His  glory,  and  discomfiting  His  enemies. 

"  The  Church  of  Christ  will  help  us  ;  but,  if  all  forsake  us,  by  God's  help  let  us 
do  it  alone.  We  have  hitherto  had  the  answer  to  that  prayer  of  Moses,  '  Let  his 
hands  be  sufficient  for  him  ;  '  and  it  shall  not  fail  us  now.  We  will  toil  together 
with  one  warm  heart  until  the  topstone  be  laid,  and  then  our  prayer  shall  be,  '  Lord, 
fill  the  house  with  Thy  glory  !  ' 

"  May  every   blessing  attend  you   in   your    families,    in    your    businesses,    and 
especially  in  your  souls  ;  and  may  Pastor  and  people  meet  in  glory  ! 
"  '  Trust  in  the  Loj'd,  and  do  o-ood.'  " 


1858. 

"  Dearly-beloved, 

"  We  again  acknowledge  the  goodness  ot  our  Covenant  Lord.  Last  year, 
we  wrote  in  faith.  Surrounded  by  dark  clouds,  we  believed  that  all  things  would 
work  for  our  good  ;  and  now,  rejoicing  in  hope,  we  record  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promise.  The  huge  waves  which  Satan  stirred  against  us  have  not  caused  us 
damage  ;  but,  by  God's  good  grace,  we  have  surmounted  every  billow,  and  are  still 
sailing  on  to  our  desired  haven.  This  has  been  the  greatest  year  of  all.  Every 
Sabbath,  crowds  have  filled  the  Music  Hall  ;  and  every  month  the  pool  of  baptism 
has  witnessed  that  they  have  not  heard  in  vain. 

"  Let  us  be  grateful  for  past  indulgence,  and  let  us  be  on  the  look-out  for  trial. 
We  must  not  e.xpect  to  be  let  alone.  Satan  has  many  plots  ;  and  though  signally 
foiled  in  one,  another  may  be  ready.  Be  prayerful,  that  trial  come  not  upon  us  as  a 
thief  in  the  night  ;  be  watchful,  lest  we  ourselves  should,  by  our  sloth,  become  the 
instruments   of  our   own    ruin. 

"  The  Tabernacle  Fund  progresses  beyond  our  hopes.  It  is  most  probable  that, 
before  the  end  of  the  year,  we  shall  have  far  exceeded  ^5,000,  which  is  no  small  sum. 
Another  year  of  earnest  effort,  and  the  work  will  be  nearing  a  conclusion.  '  Bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul  :  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  His  holy  Name.'  The  Lord 
will  prosper  that  which  concerneth  us  ;  we  shall  continue  in  loving  labour,  knit 
together  as  the  heart  of  one  man  ;  and,  by-and-by,  we  shall  raise  the  topstone  to  its 
place  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  people. 

"  I  am  anxious  beyond  measure  for  your  purity  and  unity.      I  pray  you,  watch 


3o6  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

over  one  another  in   the   Lord,  and  may  the   Master  Himself  keep  us  all  by  His 

grace  !    Accept  your  minister's  most  hearty  love,  with  every  good  wish  for  yourselves 

and  your  families  ;  and  be  not  unmindful  to  offer  fervent  prayer  for  our  success  and 

preservation.      Your  minister's  motto  is, — 

'"On!    On'    On!' 

"  Let  yours  be, — 

"  '  Go  Forward.'  " 


1859- 

"  Dearly-beloved  and  longed-for,  my  joy  and  crown, 

"  May  the  blessing  of  the  Most  High  God  descend  upon  you  in  answer 
to  my  earnest  prayers  !  This  has  been  a  year  of  prayer.  I  thank  God  for  the  daily 
supplications  which  you  have  presented  at  the  throne  of  grace.  Rest  assured  that 
your  Pastor  appreciates  your  affectionate  earnestness  on  his  behalf,  and  is  greatly 
strengthened  and  encouraged  thereby.  It  often  brings  tears  of  joy  to  my  eyes  when, 
in  the  midst  of  weary  labour  and  cruel  abuse,  I  remember  your  united  prayers.  May 
God  hear  you,  and  make  me  a  better  preacher,  causing  my  labours  among  you  to  be 
more  successful,  both  in  your  edification  and  increase  ! 

"  Permit  me  to  counsel  you  as  to  the  training  of  your  families.  I  would  have  all 
our  children  fully  taught  the  Word  of  God.  Let  me  strongly  recommend  to  you  the 
use  of  The  Assembly's  Catechism.  Many  a  minister  has  derived  his  first  doctrinal 
knowledge  from  that  book  ;  and,  indeed,  it  has  in  it  the  very  life-blood  of  the  gospel. 
Let  our  youths  and  maidens  study  the  Scriptures  daily,  and  let  them  use  The  Baptist 
Confession  of  Faith,  which  they  will  find  to  be  a  useful  compendium  of  doctrinal 
knowledge.  My  desire  is,  that  I  may  have  around  me  a  well-instructed  people,  who 
shall  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  which  is  in  them. 

"There  are  many  among  us  who  are,  at  present,  cold  or  lukewarm  ;  may  the 
Divine  fire,  which  is  in  some  of  you,  be  kindled  in  their  hearts  also  !  Cleave  to  the 
Lord  with  purpose  of  heart,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  you  !" 


i860. 
"  My  Very  Dear  Friends, 

"  I  am  glad  of  this  opportunity  to  assure  you  of  the  continuance  and 
increase  of  my  hearty  and  undissembled  love  to  you.  Each  year  unites  us  more 
firmly.  We  have  suffered  together,  and  we  have  also  rejoiced  together.  In  the 
cause  of  our  common  Master,  we  have  alike  endured  the  reproach  of  men,  and  the 
reviling  of  the  people  ;  and  in  the  success  which  has  attended  us,  we  have  had  to 
rejoice  in  the  smile  of  a  Covenant  God,  and  in  the  energy  of  His  Spirit.  Comrades 
in  battle,  we  are  also  co-heirs  of  victory.      May  the  Lord,  whom  I  serve  in  the  gospel 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  307 

of  His  Son,  abundantly  bless  you,  and  return  into  your  bosoms  a  thousand-fold  those 
acts  of  love,  and  those  words  of  affection,  by  which  you  so  perpetually  prove  your 
earnest  attachment  to  me  !  Never  had  pastor  a  better  flock  ;  never  did  minister 
more  sincerely  long  for  the  good  of  his  people.  And  now,  brethren,  suffer  the  word 
of  exhortation  which  I  address  to  you  : — 

"  I.  In  relation  to  myself.  I  beseech  you,  cease  not  to  plead  with  God  on  my 
behalf.  I  have  always  acknowledged  and  recognized  the  value  of  the  supplications 
of  my  church,  and  I  feel  the  necessity  of  your  earnest  prayers  more  than  ever. 
I  entreat  you,  as  the  spiritual  father  of  very  many  of  you,  cease  not  to  intercede 
with  God  on  my  behalf 

"  2.  In  relation^  to  the  deacons  ana  elders.  Let  me  indulge  the  hope  that  our 
church  shall  become  as  Scriptural  in  its  order  as  in  its  doctrines  ;  and  let  me  go 
further,  let  me  hope  that  we  may  not  only  walk  in  Scriptural  order,  but  in  spiritual 
power.  Seek  unitedly  the  purity  and  increase  of  the  whole  body.  Rally  round  the 
officers  of  our  little  army,  and  submit  yourselves  to  their  guidance  and  counsel. 
Let  every  member  know  the  elder  who  presides  over  his  district ;  and  should  that 
brother  fail  to  visit  him,  let  the  member  visit  the  elder,  and  remind  him  that  he  has 
overlooked  one  of  the  sheep  of  his  flock.  Endeavour  to  maintain  meetings  for 
prayer  in  each  district  of  this  great  city  ;  and  if  there  be  a  door  for  other  agencies, 
use  them  to  the  utmost  of  your  ability.  Each  district,  with  its  elder,  should  be  a 
regiment  with  its  officer  ;  and  then  all  the  diff'erent  bands,  when  called  to  united 
action,  would  be  ready  to  achieve  an  easy  victory.  Honour  the  brethren  who  serve 
you  in  the  gospel,  and  esteem  them  very  highly  in  love,  for  the  Lord's  sake. 

"  3.  In  relation  to  07ie  another.  I  admire  the  liberality  of  our  poor  brethren 
to  the  cause,  and  the  zeal  of  all  for  the  spread  of  the  truth,  and  the  love  which  exists 
among  you  one  toward  another,  '  Let  brotherly  love  continue.'  We  are  none  of 
us  perfect,  and  therefore  need  forbearance  from  others  ;  our  fellow-members  are  like 
ourselves,  and  therefore  we  must  exercise  the  like  charity  towards  them.  We  must 
mutually  seek  the  comfort  and  sanctification  of  each  other,  '  endeavouring  to  keep 
the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.' 

"A  meek  and  quiet  temper  will  always  tend  to  sustain  you  under  injuries  from 
others,  and  will  prevent  your  dealing  harshly  with  brethren.  The  character  of 
Archbishop  Leighton  is  one  which  it  would  be  a  noble  thing  for  us  to  imitate  to 
the  letter.  Speaking  of  his  humility,  Burnet  says  '  that  he  seemed  to  have  the 
lowest  thoughts  of  himself  possible,  and  to  desire  that  all  other  persons  should  think 
as  meanly  of  him  as  he  did  of  himself ;  and  he  bore  all  sorts  of  ill-usage  and 
reproach,  like  a  man  that  took  pleasure  in  it.'  And  again,  of  his  temperament, 
'  he  had  so  subdued  the  natural  heat  of  his  temper  that,  in  a  great  variety  of 
circumstances,  and  in  the  course  of  intimate  conversation  with  him  for  twenty  years, 


3o8  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

he  never  observed  tne  least  sign  of  passion  in  him,  but  upon  one  occasion.  The 
accidents  and  behaviour  which  usually  disturb  the  temper  had  no  power  to  ruffle 
the  equanimity  of  Leighton.  Whilst  living  at  Dunblane,  his  man-servant,  being- 
desirous  of  fishing,  went  off  one  morning  very  early,  locking  the  door,  and  taking 
the  key  with  him,  thus  making  his  master  a  prisoner ;  nor  did  he  return  until  the 
evening,  when  the  only  rebuke  which  he  received  from  the  Bishop  was,  "John,  when 
you  next  go  a-fishing,  remember  to  leave  the  key  in  the  door."  '  Perhaps  it  is  too 
much  to  expect  so  great  a  degree  of  gracious  temper  in  all  ;  but,  nevertheless,  let 
us  strive  after  it.  This  will  make  it  easy  work  to  maintain  cordial  and  joyous 
communion. 

"  4.  In  7'elation  to  other  churches.  Be  careful  to  maintain  your  orthodoxy,  and 
bear  your  witness  against  all  error ;  but  be  even  more  mindful  to  secure  the 
communion  of  saints,  and  avoid  all  bigotry  and  bitterness. 

"  5.  With  regard  to  the  world.  Let  it  not  seduce  you  ;  come  out  from  it 
daily,  and  be  separate  ;  but  strive  daily  for  the  salvation  of  souls  ;  and  may  the  Lord 
make  you,  in  His  hands,  the  salt  of  the  earth,  and  the  instructors  of  the  people  ! 
Huge  is  our  city,  and  hideous  its  sin  ;  labour  for  the  good  of  men,  and,  finally,  when 
the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  may  we  all  appear  with  Him  in  glory !  " 


1861. 

"  Brothers  and  Sisters, 

"  Bless  God  for  the  past,  and  trust  Him  for  the  future.  It  is  far  better  to 
prepare  for  what  lies  before  us  than  to  congratulate  ourselves  upon  that  which  is 
already  accomplished.  Great  as  have  been  the  blessings  with  which  Almighty  God 
has  favoured  us,  we  are  longing  and  looking  for  larger  displays  of  His  goodness. 
Permit  me  very  lovingly  to  thank  all  of  you  for  your  hearty  assistance  in  labours 
already  performed,  and  allow  me  to  entreat  your  continued  aid  in  our  new 
undertakings.  Above  all  things,  I  most  earnestly  crave  your  prayers  ;  and  I  am 
sure  you   will   not  deny  them  to  me. 

''Pray  for  vie  in  my  ministry.  It  is  no  narrow  sphere  to  which  my  Lord  has 
called  me.  Nothing  but  all-sufficient  grace  can  enable  me  to  discharge  the  labours 
which  devolve  upon  me.  Oh,  I  beseech  you,  as  Aarons  and  Hurs,  hold  up  my 
hands,  that  my  pulpit  power  may  not  abate  ! 

"  Pray  for  me  as  Pastor.  The  church  is  of  so  great  a  magnitude,  that  no  eye 
but  that  of  Omniscience  can  oversee  it  all.  As  a  company  of  fallible  men,  we  have 
many  infirmities  ;  and  it  is  a  matchless  favour  to  deal  faithfully  with  all,  and 
yet  maintain  perfect  peace  ;  to  be  ever  active  in  stirring  up  the  whole  company,  and 
yet  very  tender  and  pitiful  to  the  lambs  of  the  flock.  Pray  for  me,  my  beloved,  for 
I  would  rather  renounce  my  office  than  lack  your  prayers. 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  3O9 

"  Pray  for  vie  as  aji  evangelist.  I  am  incessantly  itinerating  through  the  cities, 
towns,  and  villages  of  this  land.  There  are  few  large  towns  in  which  I  have  not 
uplifted  the  cross  of  Christ.  These  frequent  journeyings  require  much  physical 
strength  ;  and  constant  preaching  demands  great  mental  power,  and  spiritual  might. 
Ask  of  my  Lord  that,  everywhere.  His  Word  may  have  free  course,  run,  and  be 
glorified.  There  are  lifeless  churches  to  be  aroused,  and  careless  sinners  to  be 
called.  Entreat  our  Heavenly  Father  that  my  preaching  may  have  a  share  of  success 
in  promotmg  these  most  important  objects. 

"  Pray  for  me  as  a  teacher  of  teachers.  The  Lord  put  it  into  my  heart  to 
commence  an  Institution  for  the  training  of  young  ministers.  With  a  very  able 
coadjutor,  I  have  constantly  increased  the  number  of  young  men.  Prayer  and  faith 
have  always  supplied  the  means  so  far,  although  I  have  no  society  or  regular  funds 
to  depend  upon.  I  would  rejoice  greatly  it  my  gracious  Lord  would  send  me 
pecuniary  aid  to  enable  me  to  increase  the  number  at  once  to  twenty.  This  I  must 
leave  with  Him.  Much  wisdom  is  needed  in  training  uncultivated  but  earnest  minds, 
and  in  finding  suitable  spheres  for  the  men  when  they  are  ready  for  the  work.  Let 
this  matter,  then,  be  remembered  at  the  mercy-seat  so  often  as  it  shall  be  well 
with  you. 

''  Pray  for  me  as  an  intercessor  for  others.  Beg  that  the  Lord  may  give  me 
power  in  prayer.  The  most  of  a  minister's  work  must  be  done  upon  his  knees. 
Weak  here,  we  are  weak  everywhere.  I  desire  to  bear  you  ever  on  my  heart  before 
the  throne  ;  but  how  can  I  do  this  unless  you  shall  pray  the  Lord  to  enable  me  .-* 
For  this,  I  appeal  to  you,  and  beg  your  perpetual  remembrances. 

"  Finally,  brethren,  wait  for  the  appearance  of  the  Lord  from  Heaven,  and  be 
ye  found  with  well-trimmed  lamps  and  well-girt  loins,  that,  when  He  cometh,  you 
may  rejoice  before  Him." 


1862. 

"  To  the  Church  in  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  over  which  the  Lord  has  made 
me  overseer. 

"  Beloved   Friends, 

"  Your  faithfulness  and  affection  are  gratefully  remembered  in  my  daily 
thanksgivings,  and  in  this  public  manner  I  tender  you  my  warmest  gratitude.  Truly, 
I  nave  no  cause  to  complain  of  fickle  or  lukewarm  friends  in  the  church.  No  abuse, 
however  venomous,  has  shaken  your  confidence  ;  no  rhisrepresentations,  however 
ingenious,  have  perverted  your  opinions  ;  and  no  slanders,  however  scurrilous,  have 
loosened  your  attachment.  We  have  borne  equally  and  cheerfully  the  cross  of 
Christ.  You  have  not  repudiated  the  burden,  as  though  it  belonged  only  to  the 
Pastor  ;  but  you  have  felt  that  an  attack  upon  him  was  an  assault  upon  yourselves,  and 


3IO  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

any  wounds  which  he  might  suffer  have  rankled  in  vour  spirit  as  well  as  In  his  own. 
Persecution  has  been  greatly  blessed  to  us,  for  it  has  made  us  a  united  people  ;  and 
we  may  add,  a  separated  company,  who  are  constantly  constrained  to  contend  for  one 
another  against  the  world,  both  religious  and  profane.  A  thousand  times  have  the 
haters  of  our  holy  cause  uttered  the  most  villainous  calumnies  against  your  Pastor  ; 
but,  as  one  by  one  you  have  heard  their  report,  they  have  no  more  alarmed  you  than 
the  crackling  of  thorns  in  the  fire,  or  the  noise  of  summer  insects  among  the  trees. 
We  can  afford  to  endure  this  '  trial  of  cruel  mockings,'  for  a  clear  conscience, 
prevalence  in'  prayer,  and  abundant  success,  are  an  armour  quite  sufficient  for  the 
church  in  her  worst  condition. 

"  During  the  past  year,  we  have  entered  upon  our  new  Tabernacle,  having  no 
debt  to  encumber  our  future  action.  What  a  cause  for  gratitude  to  our  all-gracious, 
prayer-hearing  God  !  And  what  a  claim  upon  us  to  exercise  abundant  faith  and 
entire  consecration  to  His  cause  !  The  Lord  hath  not  dealt  thus  with  every  people  ; 
let  tis  be  glad  and  rejoice  in  Him. 

"  Since  the  opening  of  the  building,  very  many  necessary  works  have  been 
performed  which  have  engrossed  the  larger  part  of  the  annual  revenue  ;  and  much 
remains  still  to  be  done  before  the  Tabernacle  can  be  called  complete  ,  hence  there 
will  be  little  or  nothing  to  spare  for  the  College,  and  the  Pastor  must  look  to  your 
thankofterings  for  the  support  of  this  great  cause.  You  have  not  been  backward 
aforetime,  and  will  certainly  be  ready  now. 

"  With  regard  to  our  spiritual  interests,  let  us  ask  ourselves  whether  we  have 
grown  in  grace  this  year,  whether,  like  the  living  tree,  we  have  put  forth  fresh 
branches  and  leaves,  or  whether  we  have  stood  like  posts,  on  which  the  rain  descends 
and  the  dew  distils,  but  they  remain  as  dead  and  unfruitful  as  before.  Is  our  faith 
stronger?  Is  our  love  warmer?  Is  our  hope  brighter?  Have  we  advanced  in 
courage,  patience,  virtue,  and  true  holiness?  Has  grace  in  the  blade  become  grace 
in  the  ear?  Have  we  a  deeper  sense  of. the  depravity  of  our  nature  ?  Are  we  more 
habitually  looking  out  of  self  into  Christ,  and  do  we  walk  in  closer  fellowship  with 
Him?  Let  us  answer  these  questions,  and  then  remember  the  injunction  of  the 
apostle,  '  .See  then  that  ye  walk  circumspectly,  not  as  fools,  but  as  wise,  redeeming 
the  time,  because  the  days  are  evil.' 

"And  now  that  the  lion-standard  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  is  uplifted  for  another 
march,  let  us  confidently  and  joyously  follow  it.  Jehovah  is  with  us,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob  is  our  Refuge.  Rise  up.  Lord,  and  let  Thine  enemies  be  scattered  ;  and  let 
them  that  hate  Thee  flee  before  Thee  !  We  shall  tread  upon  the  lion  and  adder  ;  the 
young  lion  and  the  dragon  shall  we  trample  under  our  feet.  '  They  that  wait  upon 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  ; 
they  shall  run,  and  not  be  weary  ;  and  they  shall  walk,  and  not  faint.'  " 


CHAPTER     LVII. 


Builliiitg  "  (Dtir  J).als  attb  Beautiful  laust." 

How  can  the  poor  have  the  g'^spel  preached  to  them,  if  they  cannot  come  and  hsten  to  it  ?  And 
yet  how  many  of  our  places  of  worship  there  are  into  which  they  cannot  come,  or  into  which,  if  they 
are  admitted,  they  only  come  as  inferior  creatm-es!  They  may  sit  in  the  back  seats,  but  they  are 
not  to  be  known  and  recognized  as  being  like  other  people.  Hence  the  absolute  necessity  of  having 
places  of  worship  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  multitude ;  and  hence,  moreover,  the  obligation  to 
go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges.  If  the  poor  are  to  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them,  then  we 
must  take  it  where  they  can  hear  it.  If  I  wanted  to  preach  to  English  people,  it  would  be  of  no  use  for 
me  to  go  and  stand  on  one  of  the  peaks  of  the  Himalayas,  and  begin  preaching ;  they  could  not  hear 
me  tliere.  And  it  is  of  little  avail  to  build  a  gorgeous  structure  for  a  fashionable  congregation,  and  then 
to  think  of  preaching  in  it  to  the  poor;  they  cannot  come  there  any  more  than  the  Hottentots  can 
make  the  journey  from  Africa,  and  listen  to  me  here.  I  should  not  expect  them  to  come  to  such  a  place, 
nor  will  they  willingly  enter  it. 

The  gospel  should  be  preached,  then,  where  the  poor  will  come.  We  should  have  houses  of 
prayer  where  there  is  accommodation  for  them,  and  where  they  are  regarded  and  respected  as  much  as 
any  other  rank  and  condition  of  men.  It  is  with  this  view  alone  that  I  have  laboured  earnestly  to  be 
the  means  of  building  a  large  place  of  worship,  because  I  feel  that,  although  the  bulk  of  my  congrega- 
tion in  New  Park  Street  Chapel  consists  of  poor  people,  yet  there  are  many  in  the  humbler  ranks  of 
society  who  can  by  no  possibility  enter  the  doors,  because  we  cannot  find  room  for  the  multitudes  that 
desire  to  come. 

You  ask  me,  perhaps,  wliy  I  do  not  preach  in  the  street.  I  reply,  1  would  do  so,  and  am  con- 
stantly doing  so  in  every  place  e.xcept  London  ;  but  here  I  cannot  do  it,  since  the  enormous  crowds 
that  would  probably  assemtile  would  be  likely  to  cause  a  breach  of  the  peace.  I  trembled  when  I  saw 
twelve  thousand  persons  on  the  last  occasion  when  I  preached  in  the  open  air ;  therefore  I  have 
thought  it  best,  for  the  present  at  least,  to  desist,  until  haply  there  shall  be  fewer  to  follow  me. — 
C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  preached  at  the  Mttiic  Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens,  January  25,  \&^-],/rom  the  text,  "  The 
poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them" 


N  June,  1856,  the  Building  Committee  for  the  proposed  new 
Tabernacle  was  appointed.  Their  first  meeting  was  held  on 
June  16,  and  they  were  able  so  far  to  put  their  recommendations 
into  practical  form  that  it  was  possible  to  hold  the  first  public 
meeting  in  aid  of  the  project  in  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  on 
Monday  evening,  September  29.  In  view  of  the  ultimate  expen- 
diture of  over  ^31,000,  it  is  interesting  to  read  the  official  account  of  that  early 
gathering,  and  the  estimate  then  formed  as  to  the  probable  financial  responsibility 
the  church  and  congregation  thought  of  incurring  : — "  Resolutions  were  unanimously 
passed  (i)  that  a  Tabernacle,  holding  5,000  sittings,  should  be  erected,  and  (2)  that 
subscription  lists  should  be  opened.  Upwards  of  ^3,000  was  promised,  and  the 
Committee  are  very  sanguine  in  their  expectation  that  the  sum  of  ^12,000  (the 
amount  required)   will   be  speedily  forthcoming.     They  earnestly  solicit  the  hearty 


312  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

co-operation  of  the  Christian  public  in  this  undertalcing.  Their  chief  object  in  this 
movement  is  the  welfare  of  the  masses,  who  hitherto  have  been  neglectful  of  their 
souls  Steady,  earnest  assistance  is  required,  that  the  building  may  be  erected.  It 
would  be  gratifying  to  the  Committee  if  every  church  in  the  kingdom  had  a  brick  or 
a  beam  in  the  new  Tabernacle." 

No  one  in  the  densely-crowded  and  enthusiastic  audience,  on  that  Monday 
evening,  could  have  imagined  that,  just  three  weeks  later,  a  sorrow-stricken  assembly 
would  be  gathered  in  the  same  place,  without  the  beloved  Pastor,  who  had  been 
utterly  prostrated  by  "  the  great  catastrophe  "  at  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall. 
Among  the  many  comments  and  criticisms  of  that  trying  period,  several  newspapers, 
including  The  Times,  The  Daily  News,  and  The  Saturday  Revietv,  stated  that 
the  contemplated  new  Tabernacle  was  to  hold  15,000  people  ;  so,  at  the  first  service 
in  the  Music  Hall,  after  the  accident,  Mr.  Spurgeon  corrected  this  exaggeration,  and 
e.\plained  the  need  for  a  large  permanent  home  for  his  church  and  congregation. 
He  said  : — 

"  There  have  been  a  great  many  rumours  abroad  respecting  the  new 
chapel,  the  building  of  which  has  been  contemplated  by  a  number  of  my  friends. 
It  has  been  asserted  that  we  want  to  erect  a  Tabernacle  capable  of  holding  15,000 
people.  With  respect  to  that  assertion,  I  will  only  say  that  some  truthful  (  )  person 
has  thought  fit  to  put  a  '  i  before  the  '  5,'  for  we  have  never  entertained  even  a 
thought  of  building  such  a  place.  it  has,  however,  been  judged  that  a  place  ol 
worship  capable  ot  accommodating  about  5,000  persons  is  necessary.  For  my  own 
part,  I  have  no  wish  for  such  a  large  sanctuary  ;  only  I  cannot  bear  to  see.  Sabbath 
after  Sabbath,  as  many  people  go  away  as  are  able  to  enter  the  chapel  where  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  absemble  for  worship.  It  is  the  will  of  people  to  come  in 
great  multitudes  to  listen  to  my  proclamation  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel  ;  I  have 
not  asked  them  to  come,  it  is  of  their  own  free  will  that  they  meet  with  us  ;  and 
if  it  is  a  sin  for  me  to  have  so  many  hearers,  it  is  at  least  an  uncommon  sin,  which 
many  others  would  lil<.e  to  commit  if  they  could.  It  has  been  said,  '  Let  those  who 
wish  to  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon  pay  for  their  seats  ;'  but  that  method  would  defeat  the 
object  I  have  in  view.  I  want  to  preach  to  those  who  cannot  aft'ord  to  pay  for  seats 
in  a  chapel,  and  it  is  my  wish  to  admit  as  many  of  the  general  public  as  possible. 
Many  of  my  friends,  I  know,  are  most  an.xious  on  the  subject  of  a  larger  place  of 
worship  than  we  have  at  present,  and  would  give  double  what  they  have  done  if  they 
could  afford  it.  It  is  much  to  the  inconvenience  of  my  congregation  to  attend  here. 
We  have  a  comfortable  place  of  worship  at  New  Park  Street.  There  we  are  very 
happy  together,  and  I  have  as  many  hearers  and  church  members  as  any  man  need 
desire.      It  is  only  with  a  view  of  winning  more  souls  to  God  that  we  have  come  to 


C.     H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  313 

this  larger  building,  and  that  we  wish  to  erect  our  proposed  Tabernacle.  Should  we 
be  charged  with  seeking  any  other  objects,  the  judgment-day  will  declare  what  our 
motives  have  truly  been." 

The  next  large  meeting  in  aid  of  the  Building  Fund  was  held  on  Monday 
evening,  March  23,  1857,  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  which  was  again  quite 
crowded.  The  chairman  was  W.  Jaynson,  Esq.,  of  St.  Mary  Cray,  whose  donations, 
during  the  evening,  reached  altogether  /^200.  The  amount  paid  in  or  promised  at  the 
meeting  was  over  ^500,  making  the  total  to  that  date  about  ^^4,500.  Mr.  Spurgeon, 
in  his  address,  recounted  the  history  of  the  enlargement  at  New  Park  Street,  and  ot 
the  services  at  Exeter  Hall  and  the  Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall.  Of  the  latter 
gatherings,  and  of  the  need  of  the  new  Tabernacle,  he  said  : — 

"  In  the  Music  Hall,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  Lord  has  gathered  great 
numbers  to  His  Heavenly  Shiloh.  Few  have  witnessed  the  teeming  multitudes  who 
have  assembled  there  to  join  in  the  praises  of  God,  but  have  done  so  with  tears  ;  and 
it  has  well-nigh  overpowered  me  many  a  time.  Truly,  the  Lord  hath  done  wonderful 
things  for  us,  whereby  we  are  laid  under  solemn  obligation  to  Him.  The  Lord 
having  given  me  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  and  blessed  me  with  not  a  little 
success,  the  number  of  members  has  so  increased  as  well-nigh  to  fill  this  place  ; 
indeed,  we  have  300  more  friends,  whose  names  are  on  the  church-book,  than  are 
able  to  sit  down  in  the  area  of  the  chapel  to  partake  of  the  communion  ;  and  if  the 
Lord  should  continue  to  bless  my  labours  in  the  years  to  come,  as  He  has  done  in 
those  that  are  past,  very  soon  there  will  not  be  room  for  an  unconverted  sinner  to 
get  into  the  chapel.  What  should  I  do  then  ?  '  Oh  ! '  you  say,  '  there  is  the  work 
of  building  up  God's  people.'  I  know  there  is,  but  I  also  know  what  it  is  to 
travail  in  soul  for  the  unsaved,  and  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  ot  not  having  sinners 
to  speak  to.  Therefore  it  becomes  me  to  look  for  a  large  place  where  they  can  be 
permanendy  gathered.  The  Music  Hall  has  been  made  a  trap  for  many  a  soul  ; 
but,  then,  it  would  not  do  always  to  worship  there.  Many  of  the  converts  want  to 
join  the  church,  and  to  come  regularly  under  my  ministry  ;  but  we  have  no  room  for 
them  here  ;  our  chapel  is  altogether  out  of  proportion  to  the  crowds  that  gather  with 
us  at  the  Surrey  Gardens.  Where  do  they  spend  their  Sabbath  evenings.''  It  is  my 
duty  to  look  after  them.  Long  ago,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  either  a  suitable  place 
must  be  built,  or  I  would  resign  my  pastorate  :  you  by  no  means  consented  to  the 
latter  alternative  ;  yet  I  sternly  resolved  that  one  or  the  other  must  be  done, — either 
the  Tabernacle  must  be  erected,  or  I  would  become  an  evangelist,  and  turn  rural  dean 
of  all  the  commons  in  England,  and  vicar  of  all  the  hedge-rows.  Some  nobleman, 
speaking  or  writing  of  this  matter,  said,  '  Who  knows  whether  the  place  will  ever  be 
built .'' '      I  wrote  to  him,  and  said,  '  You  need  not  ask  that  question,  my  lord  ;  there's 


314  C.     H.     SPUKGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

a  man  alive  who  will  earn  the  money.'  Yes,  it  shall  be  had.  I  have  prayed  to  the 
Lord,  and  I  shall  keep  on  praying  ;  and  I  know  He  will  not  refuse  my  request.' 

A  newspaper  canard,  in  The  Morning  Star,  June  10,  1857,  might  have  checked 
the  flow  of  contributions  for  the  Tabernacle  ;  but  the  Pastor  promptly  contradicted 
the  story,  and  so  neutralized  its  effects.  A  contemporary  suggested  that,  instead  of 
Mr.  Spurgeon  being  "  done  "  by  the  person  referred  to,  it  was  the  Editor  of  the 
Star  who  had  himself  been  "  done  "  by  a  penny-a-liner.  The  paragraph  was  as 
follows  : — 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  done  by  a  pickle-selling  Tartuffe. — Most  persons  have 
observed  in  the  newspapers,  and  on  the  walls  of  the  metropolis,  announcements  of  a 

reward    for   the   apprehension   of  Mr.   ,    an   oil    and   pickle   merchant    in    the 

Borough,   who  has  not  surrendered  to  his  bankruptcy,  but  has  left  the  country  in 

company  with,  it  is  said,  his  governess.      It  may  not  be  known  that,  in   Mr. , 

we  have  to  add  another  to  the  unhappily  long  list  of  persons  who  have  traded  on 

religion  for  the  purpose  of  deluding  the  world  in  general.      Mr. ,   who  was 

accustomed  to  wear  a  white  neckcloth  among  his  other  personal  adornments,  was 
Treasurer  ot  the  funds  in  process  of  collection  for  the  new  chapel  about  to  be 
erected  for  Mr.  Spurgeon, — by  whose  teaching,  it  would  seem,  he  has  profited  but 
little ; — and  has  absconded,  it  is  said,  with  over  ;^2,ooo  of  the  popular  young 
Baptist's  money." 

Mr.  Spurgeon  wrote  the  following  letter,  which  the  Editor  at  once  published  : — ■ 

"  Nightingale   Lane, 

"  Clapham, 

June    10,    1857. 
"Sir, 

"  I  beg  to  call  your  immediate  attention  to  several  errors  in  an  article  in 
this  morning's  Star,  headed  '  Mr.  Spurgeon  done  by  a  pickle-selling  Tartuffe.'  I 
cannot  imagine  the  origin  of  so  extraordinary  a  statement,  for  it  might  as  well  have 

been  said  that  Adam  robbed  my  orchard  as  that  Mr. had  appropriated  our 

funds.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  moneys  for  the  new  Tabernacle  are  '  preserved ' 
in  the   London  and  Westminster   Bank,  in  two  good  names,   and  have  never  been 

placed  in  any  jeopardy  up  to  the  present.       It  is  very  probable  that   Mr. was 

a  hearer  of  mine  ;  for,  in  a  congregation  of  such  magnitude,  he  may  have  been 
sometimes  included  ;  but  he  was  not  a  member  of  my  church,  he  did  not  hold  a  seat, 
nor  did  he  regularly  attend.  He  may  have  worn  a  white  neckcloth,  but  he  did  not 
purchase  it  out  of   our  funds,    for  he  was  in  no  way  whatever  connected  with  us 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  315 

beyond  being  an  occasional  attendant       If  ever  your  informant  has  been  under  the 

sound  of  my  ministry,  I  can  only  regret  that   I  must  put  him  down,  with  ,  as 

one   who  did  not  hear  to  profit.       Men  should  be  cautious  in    their    repetition    of 
unfounded  tales,   and  especially  so  in  cases  where    the  sacred  name  of  religion   is 

concerned. 

"  I  am, 

"  Yours  faithfully, 

"  C.    H.   Spurgeon." 

On  September  7,  1857,  a  meeting  was  held  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  for  the 
double  purpose  of  giving  thanks  to  God  for  the  success  that  had  attended  the  Pastor's 
labours  in  gathering  funds  for  the  new  Tabernacle,  and  of  encouraging  the  people  to 
do  their  utmost  for  the  same  object.  On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  that  the 
many  thousands  of  hearers,  who  regularly  worshipped  at  the  Music  Hall,  proved  that, 
as  soon  as  a  building  could  be  erected  to  seat  5,000  persons,  that  number  ol  friends 
might  be  safely  calculated  upon  to  fill  it,  and  they  would  then  have  the  best  and 
strongest  church  in  London.  Sir  Morton  Peto  had  promised  to  get  his  agent  to  look 
out  for  a  suitable  site,  and  he  had  .also  guaranteed  substantial  help  to  the  Building 
Fund,  which  continued  to  grow,  though  not  as  rapidly  as  the  young  Pastor  desired. 

The  following  resolution,  preserved  in  the  church-book,  shows  that,  in  July,  1858, 
the  time  appeared  to  have  arrived  tor  making  a  further  advance  in  connection  with 
the  much-needed  new  Tabernacle  : — 

"  Meeting  of  the  male  members  ot  the  church, 
"  Monday,  July  26th,  1858. 

"  Our  Pastor  convened  this  meeting  in  order  to  acquaint  the  church  with  the 
position  of  the  great  design  for  erecting  a  new  Tabernacle,  and  also  to  obtain  the 
opinion  of  the  church  as  to  immediate  progress. 

"The  church  unanimously  resolved, — That  the  Committee  be  desired  to  proceed 
with  all  prudent  speed,  and  agree  that  our  Pastor  should  leave  us  alternate  months, 
if  he  saw  it  necessary  to  do  so,  in  order  to  collect  the  needful  funds. 

"The  meeting  afforded  a  most  pleasing  proof  of  the  unity  and  zeal  of  the 
brethren." 

This  was  the  memorable  gathering  of  "the  men  members  of  the  church"  (in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Trust  Deed),  to  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  often 
referred  when  relating  the  history  of  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle.  His  account 
of  it  will  be  found,  with  other  autobiographical  paragraphs,  at  the  close  of  the 
present  chapter. 


3i6 


H.     SPURGEON  3     AUTOBIOGRATHY. 


It  was  not  long  after  this  time  that  the  public  announcement  was  made  concerning 
the  purchase  of  the  freehold  site  for  the  new  sanctuary  ;  and  on  December  13,  1858, 
New  Park  Street  Chapel  was  once  more  crowded  with  an  eager  and  expectant 
audience,  which  had  assembled  "  to  hear  a  statement  of  the  progress  made,  and  to 
devise  steps  for  recruiting  the  funds  necessary  for  building  the  proposed  Tabernacle." 
The  venerable  Deacon  James  Low,  presided  ;  and  Deacon  Thomas  Cook,  the 
Honorary  Secretary,  presented  a  report  which  contained  the  following  information 
with  regard  to  the  hnancial  and  other  progress  made  by  the  Building  Committee  : — 

"  Their  first  efforts  were  directed  to  adopt  measures  for  raising  funds,  and 
obtaining  a  site  for  the  building,  in  both  of  which  they  have  met  with  abundant 
success.  Since  the  opening  of  the  account,  in  September,  1856,  to  the  present  date, 
a  period  of  27  months,  the  sum  of  ^9,418  19s.  yd.  has  been  received,  or  an  average 
of  ^348  17s.  per  month.  The  object,  however,  of  paramount  importance  to  the 
Committee  was  obtaining  an  eligible  site  for  the  building.  This  was,  indeed, 
surrounded  with  innumerable  difficulties,  which  seemed  at  times  to  be  beyond  the 
power  of  the  Committee  to  overcome.  At  length,  however,  their  labours  were 
crowned  with  complete  success,  and  they  were  rewarded  for  their  long  and  tedious 
negotiation  by  obtaining  the  promise  of  the  Fishmongers'  Company  to  sell  a  portion 
of  their  land   at    Newington.*      In   announcing  this,    the   Committee   cannot   refrain 


THE   FISHMONGERS    ALMSHOUSES,    NEW1> 


*  The  site  was  formerly  occupied  by  the  Fishmongers'  Company's  Almshouses.  They  bore  the  name  of  St.  Peter's  Hospital, 
and  were  built  in  1618-36,  out  of  the  Kneseworth  and  other  trusts  :  and  consisted  of  three  courts,  a  chapel,  and  a  hall.  They  were 
rebuilt,  in  1850-1,  at  East  Hill,  Wandsworth;  and,  after  their  removal,  the  land  presented  such  a  forlorn  appearance  that  the 
building  of  the  Tabernacle  upon  it  was  regarded  as  a  great  public  improvement.  It  proved  to  be  that  in  more  senses  than  one. 
In  the  list  of  contributions  for  the  Tabernacle  Building  Fund,  is  the  name  of  the  Worshipful  Company  of  Fishmongers, — one 
hundred  guineas. 


c.    H.    spurgeon's    autobiography  317 

from  expressing-  their  high  appreciation  of  the  service  rendered  by  W.  Joynson,  Esq., 
of  St.  Mary  Cray,  who,  when  it  was  stated  that  an  Act  of  Parhament  would,  in 
all  probability,  be  required  to  legalize  the  sale  of  the  land,  in  the  most  generous 
manner  offered  to  meet  the  expense  which  might  be  incurred  in  so  doing,  to  the 
extent  of  ^400.  The  Committee  feel  that  the  completion  of  this  great  and  important 
work,  which  is  now  brought  to  so  satisfactory  a  state,  must  rest  entirely  with  the 
Christian  public  ;  and  it  only  remains  for  those  who  desire  to  see  the  Kingdom  ot 
Christ  extended  in  this  our  world  of  sin  and  iniquity,  to  co-operate  with  them,  and 
the  house  shall  be  built  ;  and  long  may  the  sure  and  certain  message  of  salvation 
echo  within  its  walls  !  " 

After  several  other  ministers  had  addressed  the  meeting,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — 
"  I  do  not  feel  in  speaking  order  to-night,  because  I  seem  to  have  something  in 
my  heart  so  big  that  I  am  not  able  to  get  it  out.  I  cannot,  however,  resist  the 
temptation  of  saying  a  few  words  on  a  topic  which  \ou  may  think  tar  remote  from  the 
object  of  the  meeting.  The  times  in  which  we  live  are  most  wonderful  ;  and  I  wish 
that  this  church  should  be  in  the  future  what  it  has  been  in  the  past, — the  advance- 
guard  of  the  times.  I  cannot  help  observing  that,  during  the  last  four  or  five  years, 
a  remarkable  change  has  come  over  the  Christian  mind.  The  Church  ot  England 
has  been  awakened.  How  has  this  been  accomplished,  and  what  means  have  been 
used  }  I  cannot  help  remembering  that  God  honoured  us  by  letting  us  stand  in  the 
front  of  this  great  movement.  From  our  example,  the  blessed  fire  has  run  along  the 
ground,  and  kindled  a  blaze  which  shall  not  soon  be  extinguished.  When  I  first 
heard  that  clergymen  were  to  preach  in  Exeter  Hall,  my  soul  leaped  within  me,  and 
I  was  ready  to  exclaim,  '  Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace  !  ' 
When  I  heard  that  Westminster  Abbey  was  opened  on  Sunday  evenings  for  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  then  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  I  was  overwhelmed  with 
gratitude,  and  prayed  that  only  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  might  be  preached  in  those 
places  ;  and  that  the  ministers  might  travail  in  birth  for  souls,  that  Christ  might  be 
formed  in  them  the  hope  of  glory.  I  never  felt  such  union  to  the  Church  of  England 
as  I  now  do.  The  fact  is  that,  when  a  youth  in  the  country,  I  was  accustomed 
to  associate  with  the  name  of  clergyman,  fox-hunting  and  such-like  amusements  ; 
I  abhorred  them,  for  I  thought  they  were  all  like  that.  Now  I  see  them  anxious  to 
win  souls  to  Christ,  I  cannot  help  loving  them  ;  and  as  long  as  they  go  on  to  feel  the 
value  of  souls,  I  shall  continue  to  pray  for  them.  Now,  seeing  that  the  Lord  has 
thus  honoured  us  to  be  leaders  of  others,  we  must  continue  to  lead  ;  we  must  not 
take  one  step  backwards,  but  must  still  be  the  very  van  of  the  army.  What  if  God 
should  spread  the  late  revival,  and  let  the  New  Park  Street  Church  still  go  on  as  the 
advance-gfuard  of  the  host  ? 


3l8  C.     H.     SPURGEON'S     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

"  Now,  as  to  the  Tabernacle,  I  am  quite  certain  that  it  will  be  built,  and  that  I 
shall  preach  in  it  :  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  money  will  be  forthcoming,  — that 
matter  is  no  burden  to  me.  Some  of  you  have  done  a  great  deal,  but  you  ought  to 
have  done  a  great  deal  more.  There  are  others  who,  if  measured  by  oughts,  ought  not 
to  have  done  so  much.  We  have  not  done  badly,  alter  all  ;  tor,  after  paying  ;^5,ooo 
for  the  site,  we  have  a  balance  in  hand  of  ^3,600.  I  hope  that  you  will  all  agree 
that  the  spot  is  a  most  eligible  one  ;  though  some  recommended  Kensington,  others 
Holloway,  and  others  Clapham.  Having  secured  the  ground,  the  next  thing  we  did 
was  to  advertise  for  plans,  and  the  following  is  the  circular  issued  to  architects  : — 

"  '  The  Committee  for  building  the  new  Tabernacle  for  the  congregation  of  the 
Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  give  notice  that  they  are  prepared  to  receive  designs  or  models 
from  architects  or  others,  for  the  erection  of  a  building  on  land  situate  near  "The 
Elephant  and  Castle,"  Newington,  for  which  they  offer  the  following  premiums  : — 
^50  for  the  best  design,  ^30  for  the  second,  and  ^20  for  the  third.  The  following 
are  the  conditions  : — The  building  to  contain  on  basement  floor  (which  is  to  be  five 
feet  below  the  level  of  footway)  school-rooms,  twelve  leet  high,  for  boys  and  girls, 
and  lecture-hall  to  seat  800  persons.  The  chapel  above  to  seat  3,000  persons,  with 
standing-room  for  not  less  than  1,000,  and  with  not  more  than  two  tiers  of  galleries. 
Each  sitting  to  be  not  less  than  two  feet  six  inches  by  one  foot  seven  inches.  Gothic 
designs  will  not  be  accepted  by  the  Committee.  The  plan  of  the  Surrey  Music  Hall 
has  proved  to  be  acoustically  good,  and  will  be  decidedly  preferred.  The  total  cost, 
including  architect's  commission,  warming,  ventilation,  lighting,  boundary  walls, 
fences,  paths,  fittings,  and  every  expense,  to  be  about  ^16,000.  If  the  architect,  to 
whom  a  premium  may  be  awarded,  shall  be  employed  to  superintend  the  execution 
of  the  work,  he  will  not  be  entitled  to  receive  such  premium.  Each  architect  to  state 
the  commission  he  will  require  on  outlay, — such  commission  to  include  all  expenses 
for  measuring,  superintendence,  etc.  The  designs  in  respect  of  which  premiums  may 
be  given  are,  thereupon,  to  become  the  property  of  the  Committee.  The  designs  to 
be  addressed  to  the  Building  Committee,  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  Southwark,  and 
delivered,  carriage  free,  on  or  before  the  31st  day  of  January,  1859.  Each  design  to 
be  inscribed  with  a  motto,  and  an  envelope, — with  the  same  motto  on  the  outside, — 
containing  the  name  and  address  of  the  competitor,  to  be  also  sent  to  the  Committee. 
The  envelopes  will  not  be  opened  until  the  premiums  are  awarded.  The  architects 
competing  will  be  requested  to  act  as  judges,  and  to  award  the  first  and  third 
premiums.  The  second  premium  to  be  awarded  by  the  Committee.  No  architect 
will  be  allowed  to  select  his  own  design.'  More  than  250  architects  have  applied  for 
this  circular,  all  of  whom  appear  desirous  to  build  the  place  ;  so  that  I  anticipate  we 
shall  have  a  very  pretty  Tabernacle  picture-gallery  by-and-by.  There  eire  many 
friends  with  us  to-night  who  attend  the  Music  Hall  ;  they  cannot  get  in  here  on  a 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  319 

Sabbath  evening,  so  they  are  obHged  to  be  content  with  half  a  loaf.  For  their  sake, 
I  want  to  see  the  new  chapel  built,  for  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  that  so  many  should 
come  here  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  unable  to  get  inside  the  doors. 

"Now,  as  to  money  ;  we  say  that  the  building  is  to  cost  about  ^16,000  ;  but 
depend  upon  it,  it  will  be  ;^20,ooo.  Someone  asks,  perhaps,  '  How  are  we  to 
get  it.'*'  Pray  for  it.  When  I  thought  of  the  large  sum,  I  said  to  myself,  '  It  may  as 
well  be  twenty  thousand  as  ten  ;  for  we  shall  get  one  amount  as  readily  as  the  other.' 
Brethren,  we  must  pray  that  God  will  be  pleased  to  give  us  the  money,  and  we  shall 
surelv  have  it.  If  we  had  possessed  more  faith,  we  should  have  had  it  before  now  ; 
and  when  this  Tabernacle  is  built,  we  shall  find  money  enough  to  build  a  dozen. 
Look  at  what  Mr.  Miiller,  of  Bristol,  has  done  by  faith  and  prayer.  When  this  land 
was  threatened  with  famine,  people  said,  '  What  will  you  do  now,  Mr.  Miiller  ?  ' 
'  Pray  \o  God,'  was  the  good  man's  answer.  He  did  pray,  and  the  result  was,  that 
he  had  an  overwhelming  increase.  Do  you  ask,  '  What  is  required  of  me  to-night .'' ' 
Let  me  remind  you  that  all  you  possess  is  not  your  own  ;  it  is  your  Master's  ; 
you  are  only  stewards,  and  must  hereafter  give  an  account  of  your  stewardship." 

Evidently  many  who  were  present  were  touched  by  the  Pastor's  words,  tor  the 
sums  collected  and  promised  during  the  evening  amounted  to  nearly  ^1,000. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  date  for  sending  in  plans,  models,  and  estimates,  was 
January  31, — a  day  which  was  afterwards  to  become  sadly  memorable  in  the  history 
of  the  church  at  the  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,  for  on  that  day,  in  1892,  its  beloved 
Pastor  heard  the  call,  "Come  up  higher,"  and  went  to  join  "the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  Heaven."  Careful 
readers  will  also  note  that,  although  "  about  ^16,000  "  was  the  amount  the  architects 
were  to  allow  for  the  total  cost  of  the  building  and  its  fittings  and  surroundings,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  said,  "  Depend  upon  it,  it  will  be  ^20,000  ;  "  and  so  it  was,  and  more,  too. 

In  F"ebruary,  1859,  the  competing  architects'  drawings  (sixty-two  sets  and  one 
model)  were  exhibited  in  the  Newington  Horse  and  Carriage  Repository,  and 
proved  exceedingly  attractive  both  to  the  New  Park  Street  congregation  and  the 
general  public.  By  a  vote  taken  among  themselves,  about  forty  of  the  competitors 
assigned  the  first  premium  (.;^5o)  to  the  design  submitted  by  Mr.  E.  Cookworthy 
Robins.  The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Spurgeon  to  Mr.  Robins  shows  that  the 
Pastor  himself  placed  the  prize  design  among  the  first  three,  but  that  the  drawings 
submitted  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Pocock  had  been  selected  by  himself  and  the  Committee  : — 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  I   am  requested  by  the  Committee  to  forward  the  enclosed  cheque  for 
^50   as   the   first  premium.      In  so  doing,   allow  me  to  congratulate  you  upon  the 


320  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOEIOGRAPHY. 

architectural  taste  which  is  so  manifest  in  your  drawings.  In  my  own  personal 
selection,  your  design  was  one  ol  three  which  I  considered  to  be  pre-eminent  among 
the  many.  We  have  inspected  the  designs  with  great  care,  and  long  deliberation  ;  and, 
although  we  are  compelled  to  prefer  Mr.  Pocock's  design  as  the  best  basis  for  our 
future  building,  we  could  not  but  regret  that  we  were  thus  compelled  to  lose  your 
services  in  the  erection.  You  may  not  be  aware  that  we  have  received  from  private 
friends  of  yours,  and  persons  tor  whom  you  have  erected  buildings,  the  most 
flattering  testimonials  of  your  ability.  Since  these  were  unsolicited  on  your  part, 
and  probably  unknown  to  you,  we  thought  them  worthy  of  the  highest  consideration, 
and  should  have  telt  great  pleasure  in  entrusting  our  great  undertaking  to  your 
hands.     Wishing  you  every  prosperity, 

"  I   am, 

"  Yours  heartily, 

"  C.    H.   Spurgeon." 


lilt    ALCLl'lLL'    DESIGN    FOR     lilt    -MtlK 


The  Committee  awarded  the  second  premium  (/30)  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Pocock,  and 
the  Tabernacle  was  erected  after  his  design,  though  with  considerable  modifications, 
including  the  abandonment  oi   the  towers  at  the  four  corners  of  the  buildino-.     When 


C.      H.     SPURGEOX  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


321 


Mr.  Spurgeon  found  that  they  would  probably  cost  about  ^r.ooo  each,  he  thought 
that  amount  of  money  could  be  more  profitably  expended,  and  therefore  had  them 
omitted,  and  the  style  of  the  structure  was  altered  to  the  form  which  has  since 
become  familiar  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  earnest  worshippers  from  all  quarters  of 
the  globe.  The  motto  on  the  envelope  accompanying  Mr.  Pocock's  drawings  was  the 
word  "  Metropolitan  " — a  singularly  appropriate  one,  tor  the  building  erected  under 
his  superintendence  was  to  contain  that  word  in  its  official  designation, — The 
Metropolitan  Tabernacle.* 

When  the  plans  were  finally  settled,  and  the  tenders  were  received  and  opened, 
it  was  found  that  the  highest  amounted  to  ;/^26,370,  and  the  lowest  to  ^21,500,  with 
a  saving  of  ^1,500  if  Bath  instead  of  Portland  stone  should  be  used.  This  was  the 
tender  of  Mr.  William  Higgs  ;  and  at  the  net  estimate  of  ^20,000,  the  very  figures 
the  Pastor  had  stated  some  months  before,  the  contract  was  signed.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
often  said  that  it  was  one 


IHt,    MtlKUFuLllAN     lAhLK.\A;_Lt. 


*  .\fter  the  disastrous  fire,  on  April  20,  1898,  which  almost  destroyed  the  beautiful  building  he  designed  forty  years 
before.  Mr.  Pocock  kindly  offered  to  do  anything  in  his  power  towards  the  rebuilding  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  very  generously  lent 
to  the  Committee  his  original  drawings  free  of  charge. 

W2 


322  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

the  Tabernacle,  and  it  was  a  special  cause  of  joy  to  many  that  the  contract  was 
secured  by  one  of  the  Pastor's  own  spiritual  children,  who  afterwards  became  an 
honoured  deacon  of  the  church,  and  one  of  the  dearest  personal  friends  and  most 
generous   helpers   his   minister   ever   had. 

All  needful  preparations  for  the  great  building  having  been  made,  the  foundation 
stone  was  laid  by  Sir  Samuel  Morton  Peto,  Bart.,  M.P.,  on  Tuesday  afternoon, 
August  1 6,  1859.  About  3,000  persons  were  present  at  the  ceremony,  which  was 
commenced  with  the  singing  of  the  hundredth  Psalm,  and  prayer  by  Mr.  Spurgeon  ; 
after  which  Mr.  B.  W.  Carr  read  the  statement,  which  he  had  drawn  up  on  behalf 
of  the  deacons,  rehearsing  the  history  of  the  church,  as  summarized  in  Chapter 
XXVI II.  of  the  Autobiography.  The  closing  paragraph,  narrating  the  unparalleled 
advance  made  during  the  five  years  from  1854  to  1859  at  New  Park  Street,  Exeter 
Hall,  and  the  Surrey  Gardens,  has  been  anticipated  in  the  former  part  of  the  present 
volume  ;  but  a  brief  extract  from  it  will  show  the  tenor  of  the  deacons'  testimony  to 
their  Pastor's  usefulness  throughout  the  whole  period  of  his  ministry  among  them  : — 

"The  antecedents  of  many  generations,  and  the  cherished  reminiscences  of  the 
older  members,  prepared  for  the  Rev.  Charles  Haddon  Spurgeon  that  enthusiastic 
welcome  with  which  he  was  spontaneously  hailed  by  this  church.  From  the  day  he 
commenced  his  labours  in  our  midst,  it  pleased  the  Lord  our  God  to  grant  us  a 
revival  which  has  steadily  progressed  ever  since.  Among  the  earliest  additions  to 
our  number,  there  were  not  a  few  disciples  of  Christ,  who,  after  making  a  profession 
under  faithful  ministers  long  ago  departed  to  their  rest,  had  wandered  about,  and 
found  no  settled  home.  Many  such  were  gathered  into  the  fold  of  our  fellowship. 
Here  their  souls  have  been  restored,  while  they  have  found  the  presence  of  the 
good  Shepherd,  who  maketh  us  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures,  and  leadeth  us  beside 
the  still  waters.  But  the  greater  work  was  that  of  conversion.  So  did  the  Holy 
Ghost  accompany  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  with  Divine  power,  that  almost  every 
sermon  proved  the  means  of  awakening  and  regeneration  to  some  who  were  hitherto 
'  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.'  Thus  our  church  became  an  asylum  tor  the  aged,  as 
well  as  a  nursery  for  the  babes  of  our  Saviour's  family.   .   .   . 

"  The  prejudice  against  entering  a  Nonconformist  sanctuary  has,  in  many 
instances,  been  laid  aside  by  those  who  have  worshipped  within  the  walls  of  an 
edifice  that  is  justly  accounted  neutral  ground,  it  being  sacred  or  profane  according 
to  the  temporary  use  it  is  made  to  serve.  Every  week  has  borne  testimony  to 
the  saving  influence  of  the  gospel,  as  it  has  been  proclaimed  in  the  Music  Hall 
to  an  assembly  of  5,000  persons.  Still,  with  so  large  a  congregation,  and  so  small 
a  chapel,  the  inconvenience  of  a  temporary  meeting-place  becomes  more  and  more 
grievously  felt.      There  is,  and  has  been  for  the  past  two  years,  as  fair  an  average  of 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  323 

that  large  congregation,  who  are  devout  persons,  and  regular  attendants,  as  in  any 
sanctuary  in  London.  Yet  not  one-third  of  them  can  find  a  place  under  the  same 
ministry  for  more  than  one  service  during  the  week.  The  church-members  far 
e.xceed  the  e.vtent  of  accommodation  in  our  own  chapel  to  provide  all  of  them  with 
sittings.  It  is  only  by  having  two  distinct  services  that  we  can  admit  our  com- 
municants to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  The  necessity  therefore  for  the  undertaking 
that  we  assemble  to  inaugurate,  must  be  perceived  by  all.  Every  attempt  to  trace 
the  popular  demand  for  Evangelical  teaching  to  spasmodic  excitement,  has  failed. 
The  Pastor  of  New  Park  Street  Church  has  never  consciously  departed  from  the 
simple  rule  of  faith  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  The  doctrines  he  has  set  forth 
are  identical  with  those  which  have  been  received  by  godly  men  of  every  section  ot 
the  Church  since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  The  services  of  religion  have  been 
conducted  without  any  peculiarity  or  innovation.  No  musical  or  aesthetic  accom- 
paniments have  ever  been  used.  The  v/eapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
they  are  mighty.  The  history  of  our  progress  for  five  years  is  patent  to  the  world. 
The  example  has  been  found  capable  of  successfully  stimulating  other  churches  in 
their  aggressive  efforts  to  save  perishing  souls.  With  earnest  individual  and  united 
prayer,  each  step  has  been  taken  ;  and  to  the  exclusive  honour  and  praise  of  our 
God,  our  stone  of  Ebenezer  is  this  day  laid." 

After  the  reading  of  the  paper,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — "  In  the  bottle  which  is  to 
be  placed  under  the  stone,  we  have  put  no  money, — for  one  good  reason,  that  we 
have  none  to  spare.  We  have  not  put  newspapers,  because,  albeit  we  admire  and  love 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  yet  that  is  not  so  immediately  concerned  in  this  edifice.  The 
articles  placed  under  the  stone  are  simply  these  : — the  Bible,  the  Word  of  God,  we 
put  that  as  the  foundation  of  our  church.  Upon  this  rock  doth  Christ  build  the 
ministration  of  His  truth.  We  know  of  nothing  else  as  our  standard.  Together 
with  this,  we  have  put  The  Baptist  Confession  of  Faith,  which  was  signed  in  the 
olden  times  by  Benjamin  Keach,  one  of  my  eminent  predecessors.  We  put  also  the 
declaration  of  the  deacons,  which  you  have  just  heard  read,  printed  on  parchment. 
There  is  also  an  edition  of  Dr.  Rippon's  Hymn  Book,  published  just  before  he  died  ; 
and  then,  in  the  last  place,  there  is  a  programme  of  this  day's  proceedings.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  the  New  Zealander  who,  one  day,  is  to  sit  on  the  broken  arch  of  London 
Bridge,  will  make  much  out  of  it.  If  we  had  put  gold  and  silver  there,  it  is  possible 
he  might  have  taken  it  back  to  New  Zealand  with  him  ;  but  I  should  not  wonder,  if 
ever  England  is  destroyed,  these  relics  will  find  their  way  into  some  museum  in 
Australia  or  America,  where  people  will  spell  over  some  of  our  old-fashioned  names, 
and  wonder  whoever  those  good  men  could  be  who  are  inscribed  here,  as  Samuel 
Gale,  James  Low,  Thomas  Olney,  Thomas  Cook,  George  Winsor,  William  P.  Olney, 


324 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


George  jNIoore,  and  C  H.  Spurgeon.  And  I  think  they  will  say,  '  Oh  !  depend  upon 
it,  they  were  some  good  men,  so  they  put  them  in  stone  there.'  These  deacons  ai-e 
living  stones,  indeed  ;  they  have  served  this  church  well  and  long.  Honour  to  whom 
honour  is  due.  I  am  glad  to  put  their  names  with  mine  here  ;  and  I  hope  we  shall 
live  together  for  ever  in  eternity." 

Sir  Morton  Peto,*  having  duly  laid  the  stone,  addressed  the  assembly  as  follows: — 
"  My  Christian  friends,  I  congratulate  my  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Spurgeon,  the  deacons, 
the  church,  and  all  assembled  here,  on  this  interesting  event.  It  is  one  to  which  you 
have  looked  forward  for  some  time.  It  is  the  commencement  of  an  edifice  in  which 
we  trust  that  the  era  of  usefulness  inaugurated  by  your  Pastor's  ministry  will  be 
continued,  and  largely  increased.  That  admirable  paper,  which  was  read  before  the 
stone  was  laid,  gave  you  a  succinct  but  interesting  account  of  the  church  up  to  the 
present  time  ;  we  hope  that  those  glories,  which  have  been  so  remarkably  shown 
in  the  earlier  history  of  the  church,  may  not  only  be  continued  in  the  salvation  of  a 
larger  number  than  has  ever  yet  been  known,  but  that,  in  years  to  come,  those  glories 
may  be  even  surpassed,  and  that  all  who  live  may  have  the  happiness  of  feeling  that 
the  work,  which  has  been  begun  to-day,  was  one  which  the  Lord  had  eminently 
blessed.  I  could  not  but  feel,  during  the  reading  of  that  paper,  that  the  fact  there 
stated,  that  the  church  at  New  Park  Street  is  larger,  at  the  present  time,  than  can  be 
accommodated  in  the  building,  that  there  is  practically  no  room  in  the  chapel  tor  the 
world,  is  one  which,  to  every  Christian  heart,  must  show  that  there  remained  nothing 
but  for  the  church  to  arise  and  build.  I  know  it  may  be  said  that  the  Music  Hall, 
and  other  large  places,  might  have  given  Mr.  Spurgeon  an  opportunity  of  making 
known  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  ;  but  then  there  are  other  institutions  in 
connection  with  an  edifice  of  this  kind,  which  are  of  equal  importance  with  that  to 
which  I  have  referred.  We  have  not  only  the  assembly  of  the  church  within  its  walls, 
but  we  must  have  an  opportunity  of  gathering  the  young  for  instruction  ;  and  when 
we  look  to  the  fact  that  this  new  Tabernacle  will  accommodate  about  two  thousand 
Sunday-school  children,  and  also  place  nearly  five  thousand  people  in  the  position  of 
hearino-  the  o-ospel  of  Christ,  we  not  only  feel  that  the  world  will  be  accommodated 
to  hear,  and  the  church  amply  provided  for,  but  the  young  will  be  trained  up  in  the 
way  in  which  they  should  go.  When  my  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Spurgeon — as  I  have 
no  doubt  he  will  if  spared  (and  I   trust  he  will  be  spared), — opens  this  place,   and 


*  Sir  Morton  Peto  was  a  most  generous  supporter  of  religious  and  philanthropic  movements  of  all  kinds,  and  he  was  a  special 
benefactor  to  the  Baptists.  In  later  days,  when  reverses  came  upon  him  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  he  was  greatly  cheered  by 
the  reception  of  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Spurgeon  : — 

"A  little  time  ago,  I  thought  of  writing  to  condole  with  you  in  the  late  tempests;  but  I  feel  there  is  far  more  reason  to  con- 
gratulate you  than  to  sympathize.  I  have  been  all  over  England,  in  all  sorts  of  society,  and  I  have  never  heard  a  word  spoken 
concerning  you.  in  connection  with  late  affairs,  but  such  as  showed  profound  esteem  and  unshaken  confidence.  I  do  not  believe 
that  this  ever  could  have  been  said  of  any  other  man  placed  in  similar  circumstances.  The  respect  and  hearty  sympathy  which  all 
sorts  of  persons  bear  towards  you  could  never  have  been  so  well  known  to  ynu  as  they  now  are  by  means  of  the  past  difficulties." 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


525 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^f^^^S^^^^^^^^ 

■ 

^^^g^  -f^'f^r 

■ 

M 

9^K 

<»4r  ^^jHH 

i^^^^B^H 

declares  the  full,  free,  and  finished  gospel  of  our   Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  basis  of 
his  ministry  in  years  to  come,  as  it  has  been  the  basis  of  his  ministry  in  the  past,  —  I 


326  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

hope  tli.it  it  will  be  in  a  chapel  free  from  debt.  I  know  there  is  no  testimony  which 
his  loving-  heart  would  so  freely  acknowledge,  as  that  testimony  to  himself,  or  rather 
to  his  Lord  through  him,  which  wt)uld  enable  him  to  feel,  when  he  first  ascends  the 
pulpit  of  this  new  chapel,  '  I  am  here  preaching  the  gospel  to  a  people  who  are 
assembled  in  an  edifice  which  has  no  claim  whatever  to  discharge.'  Accept  my 
sincere  congratulations  on  this  event,  my  hearty  prayers  that  every  wish  of  yours  may 
be  more  than  abundantly  realized  in  all  the  future,  that  my  dear  friend,  Mr.  Spurgeon, 
and  his  deacons  and  friends,  may  not  only  live  to  see  this  house  completed  without 
accident,  but  that  they  and  you,  occupying  it  together,  may  have  what,  after  all,  is  of 
the  greatest  importance,  a  rich  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  whom  all  that  we 
undertake  is  worthless." 

Mr.  .Spurgeon  then  said  : — "  My  dear  friends,  this  is  not  the  first  time  that  I  have 
borrowed  light  from  Sir  Morton  Peto.  I  have  often  cheered  the  darkness  of  a  long- 
railway  journey  by  a  most  e.Kcellent  lamp  of  his  own  manufacture,  which  he  kindly 
presented  to  me,  that  I  might  see  to  read  by  it  as  I  was  travelling.  I  am  very  glad 
to  see  him  blazing  forth  again  to-day  ;  in  the  light  of  his  countenance  many  of  us 
have  been  made  glad.  It  is  my  earnest  prayer  that,  while  God  is  pleased  to  bless 
him  with  wealth,  and  rank,  and  influence,  he  may  find  it  quite  as  easy  to  serve  his 
God  in  the  future  as  he  has  done  in  the  past.  We  owe  him  much,  as  Dissenters,  for 
his  great  zeal  and  wisdom  in  having  brought  through  the  House  of  Commons  an  Act 
whereby  our  chapels  are  well  secured  to  us.  I  pray  that  God  may  give  him  grace, 
every  day,  that  he  may  know  his  own  title  to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  be  clearer 
and  clearer  as  years  come  upon  him. 

"  Before  I  speak  about  the  building  we  are  going  to  erect  here,  I  want  just  to 
mention  that  I  had  a  sweet  letter  from  that  eminent  servant  of  God,  John  Angell 
James,  of  Birmingham,  in  reply  to  one  I  had  written  asking  him  to  come  to  this 
meeting.  He  said,  '  I  would  have  done  so  if  I  had  been  well  enough,  but  I  am  unable 
to  travel.  My  work  is  almost  done,  I  cannot  serve  my  Master  much  longer  ;  but  I  can 
still  do  a  little  for  Him.  I  preach  perhaps  once  on  the  Sabbath,  and  I  still  continue 
to  do  what  I  can  with  my  pen.  What  a  mercy,'  he  adds,  '  to  have  been  permitted  to 
serve  my  Master  so  long  ! '  We  frequently  exchange  notes,  and  in  his  last  letter  to 
me  he  said,  '  My  dear  brother,  be  on  your  watch-tower,  and  gird  your  sword  on  your 
thigh.  The  devil  hates  you  more  than  most  men,  for  you  have  done  so  much  damage 
to  his  kingdom  ;  and,  if  he  can,  he  will  trip  you  up.'  I  am  sure  what  good  Mr.  James 
says  is  true,  but  I  know  that  he,  and  you,  and  many  more  of  the  Lord's  people  are 
praying  that  I  may  be  upheld,  and  that  we  may  successfully  carry  through  this  great 
undertaking.  I  never  answer  any  slanders  against  myself,  and  very  seldom  answer 
any  questions  about  what  I   mean  to  do.      I  am  obliged  to  be  a  self-contained  man. 


C.     H.     STURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  327 

just  going  on  my  own  way,  and  letting  other  people  go  in  their  own  way.  If  I  am 
wrong,  I  will  be  accountable  to  my  own  Master,  but  to  no  tlesh  living  ;  and  if  I  am 
right,  the  day  will  declare  it.  God  knows  how  sincere  are  my  intentions  even  when  I 
may  have  acted  unwisely. 

"  I  said,  some  time  ago,  when  our  brethren  were  half  afraid,  '  The  Tabernacle 
is  to  be  built,  and  it  will  be  built,  and  God  will  fill  it  with  His  presence  and 
glory.'  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  about  the  money  being  obtained.  I  scarcely 
know  that  I  have  asked  an  individual  to  give  anything,  because  I  have  such  a  solid 
conviction  that  the  money  must  come.  I  suppose  that,  out  of  all  that  is  now  in  our 
hands,  I  have  myself  collected  more  than  half  through  my  preaching  ;  and  I  daresay 
that  is  how  the  larger  part  of  the  remainder  will  come,  through  the  kindness  of  the 
provincial  and  metropolitan  churches,  who  have  almost  all  treated  me  with  the  noblest 
generosity.  I  give  this  day  my  hearty  thanks  to  all  who  have  helped  me  ;  and  I  do 
not  know  but  what  I  may  as  well  add,  to  all  who  have  not  helped  me.  Many  of  them 
mean  to  do  so,  and  therefore  I  will  thank  them  beforehand.  There  is  one  gentleman 
here  to-day  who  is  to  address  you.  I  think  (albeit  that  he  can  speak  admirably,) 
the  best  part  of  his  speech  will  be  made  with  his  hand,  for  he  has  three  thousand 
pounds  with  him  to  give  as  a  noble  donation  from  an  aged  servant  of  Christ,  long 
sick  and  confined  to  his  house,  but  who  loves  Christ's  ministers,  and  desires  to  help 
Christ's  cause.  He  would  not  like  me  to  mention  his  name,  and  therefore  I  shall 
not  do  it. 

"  And  now,  my  dear  friends,  as  to  the  place  to  be  erected  here.  I  have  a  word 
or  two  to  say  with  regard  to  its  style,  with  regard  to  its  purposes,  and  with  regard  to 
our  faith  and  our  prospects. 

"  It  is  to  me  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  we  shall  succeed  in  building  in  this 
city  a  Grecian  place  of  worship.  My  notions  of  architecture  are  not  worth  much, 
because  I  look  at  a  building  from  a  theological  point  of  view,  not  from  an  archi- 
tectural one.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  are  two  sacred  languages  in  the  world. 
There  was  the  Hebrew  of  old,  and  I  doubt  not  that  Solomon  adopted  Jewish 
architecture  for  the  Temple, — a  Hebrew  form  and  fashion  of  putting  stones  together 
in  harmony  with  the  Hebrew  faith.  There  is  but  one  other  sacred  language, — not 
Rome's  mongrel  tongue — the  Latin  ;  glorious  as  that  may  be  for  a  battle-cry,  it  is 
of  no  use  for  preaching  the  gospel.  The  other  sacred  language  is  the  Greek,  and 
that  is  dear  to  every  Christian's  heart.  Our  fullest  revelation  of  God's  will  is  in 
that  tongue  ;  and  so  are  our  noblest  names  for  Jesus.  The  standard  of  our  faith  is 
Greek  ;  and  this  place  is  to  be  Grecian.  I  care  not  that  many  an  idol  temple  has 
been  built  after  the  same  fashion.  Greek  is  the  sacred  tongue,  and  Greek  is  the 
Baptist's  tongue  ;  we  may  be  beaten  in  our  own  version,  sometimes  ;  but  in  the 
Greek,    never.      Every  Baptist  place  should   be  Grecian, — never  Gothic:     We  owe 


3:28  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

nothing  to  the  Goths  as  religionists.  We  have  a  great  part  of  our  Scriptures  in  the 
Grecian  language,  and  this  shall  be  a  Grecian  place  of  worship  ;  and  God  give  us  the 
power  and  life  of  that  master  of  the  Grecian  tongue,  the  apostle  Paul,  that  here  like 
wonders  may  be  done  by  the  preaching  of  the  Word  as  were  wrought  by  his  ministry  ! 

"  As  for  our  faith,  as  a  church,  you  have  heard  about  that  already.  We  believe 
in  the  five  great  points  commonly  known  as  Calvinistic  ;  but  we  do  not  regard  those 
five  points  as  being  barbed  shafts  which  we  are  to  thrust  between  the  ribs  of  our 
fellow-Christians.  We  look  upon  them  as  being  five  great  lamps  which  help  to 
irradiate  the  cross  ;  or,  rather,  five  bright  emanations  springing  from  the  glorious 
covenant  of  our  Triune  God,  and  illustrating  the  great  doctrine  of  Jesus  crucified. 
Against  all  comers,  especially  against  all  lovers  of  Arminianism,  we  defend  and 
maintain  pure  gospel  truth.  At  the  same  time,  I  can  make  this  public  declaration, 
that  I  am  no  Antinomian.  I  belong  not  to  the  sect  of  those  who  are  afraid  to  invite 
the  sinner  to  Christ.  I  warn  him,  I  invite  him,  I  exhort  him.  Hence,  then,  I  have 
contumely  on  either  hand.  Inconsistency  is  charged  against  me  by  some  people, 
as  if  anything  that  God  commanded  could  be  inconsistent  ;  I  will  glory  in  such 
inconsistency  even  to  the  end.  I  bind  myself  precisely  to  no  form  of  doctrine.  I 
love  those  five  points  as  being  the  angles  of  the  gospel,  but  then  I  love  the  centre 
between  the  angles  better  still.  Moreover,  we  are  Baptists,  and  we  cannot  swerve 
from  this  matter  of  discipline,  nor  can  we  make  our  church  half-and-hall  in  that 
matter.  The  witness  of  our  church  must  be  one  and  indivisible.  We  must  have  one 
Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  baptism.  And  yet  dear  to  our  hearts  is  that  great  article  of 
the  Apostles'  Creed,  '  I  believe  in  the  communion  of  saints.'  I  believe  not  in  the 
communion  of  Episcopalians  alone  ;  I  do  not  believe  in  the  communion  of  Baptists  only, 
I  dare  not  sit  with  them  e.Kclusively.  I  think  I  should  be  almost  strict-communionist 
enough  not  to  sit  with  them  at  all,  because  I  should  say,  '  This  is  not  the  communion 
of  saints,  it  is  the  communion  of  Baptists.'  Whosoever  loves  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  verity  and  truth  hath  a  hearty  welcome,  and  is  not  only  permitted,  but  invited  to 
communion  with  the  Church  of  Christ.  However,  we  can  say,  with  all  our  hearts,  that 
difference  has  never  lost  us  one  good  friend  yet.  I  see  around  me  our  Independent 
brethren  ;  they  certainly  have  been  to  ^non  to-day,  for  there  has  been  '  much  water ' 
here  ;  and  I  see  round  about  me  dear  strict-communion  brethren,  and  one  of  them  is 
about  to  address  you.  He  is  not  so  strict  a  communionist  but  what  he  really  in  his  own 
heart  communes  with  all  the  people  of  God.  I  can  number  among  my  choicest  friends 
many  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  some  of  every  denomination  ;  I 
glory  in  that  fact.  However  sternly  a  man  may  hold  the  right  of  private  judgment, 
he  yet  can  give  his  right  hand  with  as  tight  a  grip  to  everyone  who  loves  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Now  with   regard  to   oui-  prospects.     We   are    to    build    this    place,    and    the 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArH V.  329 

prospect  I  anticipate  is,  that  it  will  be  paid  for  before  it  is  opened.  I  think  it  is 
likely  to  be  so  ;  because,  if  we  carry  out  our  intention,  as  a  Committee,  we  have  a 
notion  that,  if  our  friends  do  not  give  us  liberal  contributions,  we  will  put  up  the 
carcass  and  roof  it  in,  and  allow  them  to  come  in  and  stand.  Those  who  want  seats 
can  buy  them.  I  am  sure  my  people  would  soon  get  me  a  pulpit,  and  such  is  the  zeal 
of  our  brethren  that  they  would  soon  build  me  a  baptistery.  I  leave  it  open  for  any 
generous  friend  here,  who  pleases  to  do  so,  to  engage  to  provide  some  part  of  the 
Tabernacle,  and  to  say,  '  I  will  give  that.'  Churchmen  give  painted  windows  for  their 
places  of  worship  ;  and  if  some  of  you  agree  to  give  different  parts  of  the  chapel,  it  may 
be  so  erected.  You  must  understand  that  our  large  expenditure  is  caused  partly  by  the 
fact  that  we  have  immense  school-rooms  underground,  and  also  a  lecture-hall,  holding 
between  800  and  900  persons,  lor  church-meetings.  This  is  necessary,  because  our 
church  is  of  such  an  immense  size,  and  our  members  come  out  to  every  service  if 
possible  ;  there  is  no  church-edifice  in  London  so  well  used  as  ours  is  ;  they  hack 
it  to  pieces.  We  must  build  this  Tabernacle  strongly,  I  am  sure,  for  our  friends  are 
always  with  us.  They  love  to  be  at  the  prayer-meetings.  There  are  no  people  who 
take  out  their  quarter's  seat-money  so  tully.  They  say,  '  We  will  hear  all  that  we 
can  ; '  and,  depend  upon  it,  they  never  give  me  a  chance  of  seeing  the  seats  empty. 
But  our  desire  is,  after  we  have  fitted  up  our  vestry,  schools,  and  other  rooms, 
that  we  shall  be  able  to  build  other  chapels.  Sir  Morton  Peto  is  the  man  who 
builds  one  chapel  with  the  hope  that  it  will  be  the  seedling  for  another  ;  and  we  will 
pretty  soon  try  our  hands  at  it.  Our  people  have  taken  to  chapel-building, 
and  they  will  go  on  with  it.  They  built  a  chapel,  that  held  '  near  a  thousand  hearers, 
in  Horse-lie-down,'  lor  Benjamin  Keach  ;  then  they  built  one  in  Carter  Lane, 
for  Dr.  Gill  ;  then  one  in  Park  Street,  for  Dr.  Rippon  ;  and  now  we  have  set  about 
building  one  here.  God  sparing  my  life,  if  I  have  my  people  at  my  back,  I  will  not 
rest  until  the  dark  county  of  Surrey  is  covered  with  places  of  worship.  I  look  on 
this  Tabernacle  as  only  the  beginning  ;  within  the  last  six  months,  we  have  started 
two  churches, — one  in  Wandsworth  and  the  other  in  Greenwich,  and  the  Lord  has 
prospered  them,  the  pool  of  baptism  has  often  been  stirred  with  converts.  And  what 
we  have  done  in  two  places,  I  am  about  to  do  in  a  third,  and  we  will  do  it,  not  for  the 
third  or  the  fourth,  but  for  the  hundredth  time,  God  being  our  Helper.  I  am  sure  I 
may  make  my  strongest  appeal  to  my  brethren,  because  we  do  not  mean  to  build  this 
Tabernacle  as  our  nest,  and  then  to  be  idle.  We  must  go  from  strength  to  strength, 
and  be  a  missionary  church,  and  never  rest  until,  not  only  this  neighbourhood, 
but  our  country,  of  which  it  is  said  that  some  parts  are  as  dark  as  India,  shall  have 
been  enlightened  with  the  gospel." 

Mr.  Inskip,  of  Bristol,  said  : — "  I    appear  to-day  as   the   representative  ot   one, 


330  C.     II.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

who  is  confined  to  a  sick  chamber,  and  has  not  seen  the  outside  of  the  city  for  some 
years  past  ;  but  that  chamber  is  enHvened  and  enhghtened  by  the  biMght  illumination 
of  the  Eternal  Spirit.  That  man's  large  fortune  has  been  dedicated  to  his  Lord.  He 
is  eighty-three  years  of  age,  and  he  has  given  away  upwards  of  eighty  thousand 
pounds.  And  he  has  sent  me  here  to  say  that  he  will  give  you  thi-ee  thousand 
pounds ;  and,  what  is  more,  it  twenty  gentlemen  will  come  forward  with  one 
hundred  pounds  each  upon  the  opening  of  this  chapel,  I  am  prepared  to  put  down 
twenty  hundreds  to  meet  theirs.  It  is  not  for  me  to  laud  the  man,  and  therefore  I 
leave  him  in  his  solitude,  with  an  earnest  prayer,  in  which  no  doubt  many  of  you  will 
unite,  that  the  Lord  will  grant  to  him  the  bright  shinings  of  His  countenance  in  his 
last  declining  hours.  As  regards  this  building  which  is  about  to  be  erected,  it  is  a 
matter  ot  considerable  delight  to  me  to  be  able  to  forward  in  the  least  degree  the 
views  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Spurgeon.  It  has  been  my  happiness  to  hear  of  many 
sinners,  in  the  West  of  England,  brought  to  a  knowledge  -of  Christ  through  his 
ministry.  Let  me  now  place  on  this  stone,  in  accordance  with  the  mission  with 
which   I   am  entrusted,   not  a  painted  window,   but  a  printed  piece  of  paper." 

Many  other  donations  were  laid  upon  the  stone,  before  the  assembly  dispersed. 
About  two  thousand  persons  sat  tlown  to  tea  in  the  Repository,  and  at  half-past  six 
the  chair  was  taken  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  Alderman  Wire,  when  other  addresses  were 
delivered,  and  large  additional  xzontributions  given,  the  total  proceeds  of  the 
day  amounting  to  between  ^4,000  aixi  ^5,000.  In  due  time,  the  lull  amount 
required  to  claim  the  extra  ^2,000  from  Bristol  was  fcfrthcoming,  and  the  generous 
friend  there  gave  the  amount  he  had  authorized  Mr,  Inskip  to  promise  on  his 
behalf 

At  the  close  of  the  entry  in  the  church-book,  from  which  the  above  account  is 
condensed,  there  is,  in  Mr.  Spurgeon's  handwriting,  under  date  September  5,  1859, 
the  following  paragraph  : — 

"As  a  record  of  the  laying  of  the  first  stone,  the  accompanying  report  is 
inserted.  We  were  highly  favoured  with  the  smile  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  and 
desire  to  raise  a  joyful  Ebenezer  in  remembrance  of  the  happy  event.  May  God 
speed  the  work,  and  permit  us  to  meet  for  His  service  within  the  walls  of  the 
spacious  edifice  thus  joyously  commenced  !  " 

In  January,  i860,  the  total  receipts  had  grown  to  ^16,868  6s.  2d.,  and  on 
Monday  evening,  April  2,  one  more  crowded  meeting  was  held  at  New  Park  Street 
Chapel,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Pastor,  "to  hear  a  statement  as  to  the  progress 
of  the  Building  Fund,  and  to  adopt  measures  for  obtaining  additional  contributions." 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  33 1 

Mr.  Spurgeon  mentioned  that  the  number  of  members  had  nearly  reached  1,500,  and 
that  there  was  a  constant  and  regular  stream  of  enquirers  and  candidates  for  church- 
fellowship  ;  and  he  had  no  doubt  that,  soon  after  the  new  Tabernacle  was  opened, 
and  all  the  organizations  were  in  operation,  they  would  have  over  3,000  members  in 
full  communion  with  them.  Mr.  Cook  reported  that  there  had  been  received,  up  to 
that  date,  ^18,904  15s.  2d.,  but  it  was  estimated  that  a  further  sum  of  ^12,000 
would  be  required  before  the  Tabernacle  could  be  opened  free  of  debt.  Towards 
this  amount,  upwards  of  ^500  was  contributed  that  evening. 

(The  remainder  of  this  chapter  consists  of  autobiographical  paragraphs  which 
Mr.  Spurgeon  had  intended  to  use  in  narrating  this  portion  of  his  life-stor\.) 

It  has  always  been  a  subject  of  satisfaction  to  me  that  Newington  Butts  was  the 
site  selected  for  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle.  It  appears  that,  in  the  old  days  of 
persecution,  some  Baptists  were  burnt  "at  the  Butts  at  Newington," — probably  on 
or  near  the  very  spot  where  thousands  have  been  brought  to  the  Lord,  and  have 
confessed  their  faith  in  the  identical  way  which  cost  their  predecessors  their  lives. 
If  this  is  not  actually  an  instance  in  which  "  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  "  has  proved 
to  be  "  the  seed  of  the  Church,"  it  is  certainly  a  most  interesting  and  pleasing 
coincidence.  Our  district  seems  to  have  furnished  other  martyrs,  for  in  a  record, 
dated  1546,  we  read: — "Three  men  were  condemned  as  Anabaptists,  and  brente  in 
the  highway  beyond  Southwark  towards  Newington."  Though  that  description  is 
not  very  explicit,  the  region  referred  to  could  not  have  been  very  far  from  the  place 
where,  these  many  years,  there  has  been  gathered  a  great  congregation  of  those 
believers  whom  some  people  still  erroneously  persist  in  calling  "  Anabaptists  ", 
though  we  most  strenuously  hold  to  "one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism." 

Our  friends  were  at  first  not  at  all  agreed  as  to  the  position  which  they  thought 
would  be  most  suitable  for  the  new  sanctuary.  Some  would  have  liked  to  go  as  far 
West  as  Kensington,  others  would  have  preferred  the  Northern  district  of 
Holloway,  while  some  would  have  gone  nearer  to  Clapham  ;  but,  as  soon  as  I  found 
that  it  was  possible  for  us  to  obtain  the  site  formerly  occupied  by  the  Almshouses 
belonging  to  the  Fishmongers'  Company,  I  set  my  heart  upon  securing  that  position. 
I  could  see  that  it  was  a  great  advantage  to  be  so  near  the  spot  where  many  great 
public  roads  converged,  and  in  a  region  from  which  we  might  reasonably  expect  to 
draw  a  large  part  of  our  future  congregation. 

When  the  male  members  of  the  church  were  summoned  to  attend  a  special 
meeting  for  the  transaction  of  important  business  in  connection  with  the  site  for  the 
new  Tabernacle,  the  sisters,  who  were  unable  to  be  present  on  the  occasion,  were 
greatly  concerned  ;  and  when  it,  somehow,  leaked  out  that  the  Pastor  wisheci  to  buy 


332  C.     H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAI'HY. 

the  land  in  a  certain  position,  and  that  some  of  the  members  of  the  Building  Com- 
mittee wanted  to  go  elsewhere,  every  one  of  our  brethren  who  had  a  wife,  or 
dauo-hter,  or  sister,  or  sweetheart,  before  he  started  for  that  memorable  meeting 
received  some  such  injunction  as  this  : — "  Never  you  mind  what  anybody  else  says, 
you  vote  for  what  the  Pastor  proposes."  So  it  came  to  pass  that,  as  soon  as  I 
described  the  advantages  of  the  Newington  Butts  site,  there  was  such  an  emphatic 
endorsement  of  my  recommendation  that  it  was  quite  useless  for  any  other  position 
to  be  mentioned,  and  the  meeting  decided  accordingly. 

I  had  said  to  the  friends  on  the  Committee  who  would  have  preferred  some 
other  site,  "  I  have  two  plans  for  carrying  out  my  proposal  ;  the  first  is,  to  call  the 
male  members  together,  and  to  consult  them  about  the  matter."  \Mien  the  special 
church-meeting  had  been  held,  and  its  verdict  was  so  very  decisive,  one  of  the 
objectors  said  to  me,  "  You  told  us  that  you  had  two  plans  for  carrying  out  your 
proposal  ;  what  was  the  second  one  .-^  "  "  Oh  !  "  I  replied,  "  simply  that  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  not  to  go  elsewhere,  as  I  felt  sure  that  we  had  been  Divinely  guided  to 
the  rio-ht  spot."  The  brother  was  rather  amused  at  my  answer  to  his  question,  but 
he  and  all  the  rest  soon  came  round  to  my  way  of  thinking,  and  we  all  rejoiced 
together  that  the  Lord  had  so  graciously  prepared  the  place  on  which  we  were  to 
erect  "our  holy  and  beautiful  house"  to  His  praise  and  glory.  It  was,  certainly,  by 
the  special  providence  of  God  that  Mr.  James  Spicer  and  other  friends  were  placed 
upon  the  Court  of  the  Fishmongers'  Company  just  when  their  services  were  needed 
to  enable  us  to  secure  the  land  ;  and  it  was  also  a  matter  for  sincere  congratulation 
that  the  Company  was  able  to  sell  the  freehold,  for  I  would  never  have  built  the 
Tabernacle  on  leasehold  or  copyhold  ground,  as  so  many  other  places  of  worship 
have  been  erected. 

Soon  after  the  building  operations  commenced,  I  went  to  the  site  with  Mr. 
Cook,  the  Secretary  of  our  Committee,  and  there,  in  the  midst  of  the  bricks,  and 
mortar,  and  stone,  and  scaffold  poles,  and  so  on,  we  two  knelt  down,  and  prayed  for 
the  Lord's  blessing  on  the  whole  enterprise,  and  also  asked  that  no  one  ot  the  many 
workmen  employed  might  be  killed  or  injured  while  they  were  helping  to  rear  our 
new  place  of  worship  ;  and  I  was  afterwards  able  to  testify  that  our  prayer-hearing 
God  had  graciously  granted  both  of  our  requests. 

I  have  one,  among  many  reasons,  for  speaking  with  'bated  breath  as  to  anything 
which  God  has  wrought  by  me,  because,  in  my  heart  of  hearts,  I  am  made  to  feel 
that  the  true  honour  belongs  to  unknown  helpers,  who  serve  the  Lord,  and  yet  have 
none  of  the  credit  of  having  done  so.  I  cannot  help  being  pushed  to  the  front  ;  but 
I  envy  those  who  have  done  good  by  stealth,  and  have  refused  to  have  their  names 


C.      H.     SPURGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  ^^3 

SO  much  as  whispered.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  told  in  pubHc,  until  the  night  of  my 
pastoral  silver-wedding  celebration  (May  19,  1879),  one  fact  which  will  ever  live  in 
my  memory.  The  Tabernacle  was  to  be  built,  and  some  ;^30,ooo  would  be  wanted. 
We  did  not  know,  when  we  started,  that  it  would  be  so  much  ;  we  thought  about 
^12,000  or  ^15,000  would  suffice,  and  we  felt  that  we  were  rather  bold  to  venture 
upon  //niL  When  we  came  to  the  undertaking  of  responsibilities,  there  was  a 
natural  shrinking  on  the  part  of  the  Committee  with  which  we  started.  No  one 
could  be  blamed  ;  it  was  a  great  risk,  and,  personally,  I  did  not  wish  anyone  to 
undertake  it.  I  was  quite  prepared  for  any  risk  ;  but  then  I  had  no  money  of  my 
own,  and  so  was  a  mere  man  of  straw.  There  was,  in  some  of  our  friends,  a 
measure  of  fear  and  trembling,  but  I  had  none  ;  I  was  as  sure  upon  the  matter  as 
possible,  and  reckoned  upon  paying  all  the  cost.  This  quiet  assurance,  however, 
had  a  foundation  which  reflects  credit  upon  one  who  has  for  some  years  gone  to  his 
reward.  When  I  was  riding  with  a  friend  to  preach  in  the  country,  a  gentleman 
overtook  us,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  get  out  of  the  trap,  and  ride  with  him  in  his 
gig,  as  he  wished  to  speak  with  me.  I  did  so.  He  said,  "You  have  got  to  build 
that  big  place."  I  said,  "Yes."  He  said,  "You  will  find  that  many  friends  will  feel 
nervous  over  it.  Now,  as  a  business  man,  I  am  sure  you  will  succeed  ;  and,  beside 
that,  God  is  with  the  work,  and  it  cannot  fail.  I  want  you  never  to  feel  an.xious  or 
downcast  about  it."  I  told  him  that  it  was  a  great  work,  and  that  I  hoped  the  Lord 
would  enable  me  to  carry  it  through.  "What  do  you  think,"  he  asked,  "  would  be 
required,  at  the  outside,  to  finish  it  off  altogether  ?  "  I  replied,  "  ;^ 2 0,000  must  do  it 
in  addition  to  what  we  have."  "Then,"  he  said,  "  I  will  let  you  have  the  ^20,000, 
on  the  condition  that  you  shall  only  keep  what  you  need  of  it  to  finish  the  building. 
Mark,"  he  added,  "  I  do  not  e.xpect  to  give  more  than  ^50  ;  but  you  shall  have 
bonds  and  leases  to  the  full  value  of  ^20,000  to  fall  back  upon."  This  was  truly 
royal.  I  told  no  one,  but  the  ease  of  mind  this  act  gave  me  was  of  the  utmost 
value.  I  had  quite  as  much  need  of  faith,  for  I  resolved  that  none  of  my  friend's 
money  should  be  touched  :  but  I  had  no  excuse  for  fear.  God  was  very  good  to  me  ; 
but,  by  this  fact,  I  was  disabled  from  all  personal  boasting.  My  friend  gave  his 
^50,  and  no  more,  and  I  felt  deeply  thankful  to  him  for  the  help  which  he  would 
have  rendered  had  it  been  required.  There  were  others  who  did  like  generous 
deeds  anonymously,  and  among  them  was  the  giver  of  ^5,000.  If  there  be  honours 
to  be  worn  by  anyone,  let  these  dear  brethren  wear  them. 


CHAPTER    LVIII. 


OTctk^lian  Stxhkts,  1858—1860. 


Preach,  preach  twice  a  day,  I  can  and  will  do ;  but,  still,  there  is  a  travailing  in  preparation  for  it, 
and  even  the  utterance  is  not  always  accompanied  with  joy  and  gladness  ;  and  God  knoweth  that,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  good  that  we  trust  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  it  is  no 
happiness  to  a  man  to  be  well  known.  It  robs  him  of  all  comfort  to  be  from  morning  to  night  hunted 
for  labour,  to  have  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  his  foot  or  for  his  brain, — to  have  people  asking,  as  they  do  in 
the  country,  when  they  want  to  get  into  a  cart,  "  Will  it  hold  us  ?  "  never  ihinJving  whether  the  horse 
can  drag  them  ; — so  they  ask,  "Will  you  preach  at  such-and-such  a  place  ?  You  are  preaching  twice, 
couldn't  you  manage  to  go  to  the  next  town  or  village,  and  preach  again  ?"  Everyone  else  has  a  con- 
stitution, the  minister  is  supposed  not  to  have  any  ;  and  if  he  kills  himself  by  overwork,  he  is 
condemned  as  imprudent  I  bless  God  that  I  have  a  valiant  corps  of  friends  who,  day  and  night, 
besiege  God's  throne  on  my  behalf  I  would  beseech  you  again,  my  brethren  and  sisters,  by  our  loving 
da}'s  that  are  past,  by  all  the  hard  fighting  that  we  have  had  side  by  side  with  each  other,  not  to  cease 
to  pray  for  me  now.  The  time  was  when,  in  hours  of  trouble,  you  and  I  have  bent  our  knees  together 
in  God's  house,  and  we  have  prayed  that  He  would  give  us  a  blessing.  You  remember  what  great  and 
sore  troubles  rolled  over  our  head ;  and  now  that  God  has  brought  us  into  a  large  place,  and  so 
greatly  multiplied  us,  let  us  still  cry  unto  the  living  God,  asking  Him  to  bless  us.  What  shail  I  do  if  you 
cease  to  pray  for  me  ?  Let  me  know  the  day  when  you  give  up  praying  for  me,  for  then  I  must  give  up 
preaching,  and  I  must  cry,  "  O  my  God,  take  me  home,  for  my  work  is  done!" — C  H.  S.,  in  strmoH 
preached  at  the  Miisic  Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens,  jfune  28,  1 85  7. 

1  can  say,  and  God  is  my  witness,  that  I  never  yet  feared  the  face  of  man,  be  he  who  or 
what  he  may;  but  I  often  tremble— yea,  I  always  do, — in  ascending  the  pulpit,  lest  I  should  not 
faithfully  proclaim  the  gospel  to  poor  perishing  sinners.  The  an.xiety  of  rightly  preparing  and 
delivering  a  discourse,  so  that  the  preacher  may  fully  preach  Christ  to  his  hearers,  and  pray  them,  in 
Christ's  stead,  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  is  such  as  only  he  knows  who  loves  the  souls  of  men.  It  is  no 
child's  play  to  be  the  occupant  of  a  pulpit ;  he  who  finds  it  to  be  so  may  find  it  to  be  something  more 
fearful  than  devil's  play  when  the  day  of  judgment  shall  come. — C.  H.  S.,  in  sei mon  preached  at  Belfast, 
August,  185S. 

HEN  the  project  for  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle  was  fairly 
launched,  the  Pastor  set  to  work  most  energetically  in  gathering 
the  funds  needed  for  the  great  enterprise.  By  means  of  his 
preaching,  speaking,  and  lecturing,  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  required  amount  was  collected.  In  many  cases,  half  the 
proceeds  were  devoted  to  local  objects,  and  the  remainder  given  to 
Mr.  Spurgeon  for  his  new  chapel  ;  but,  in  other  instances,  the  whole  sum  was 
added  to  the  Building  Fund.  Scarcely  a  single  monthly  list  of  contributions  was 
issued  without  the  inclusion  of  several  of  these  items.  The  congregation  at  the 
Surrey  Gardens  Music  Hall  was  of  such  a  special  character  that  it  was  only  on  rare 
occasions  that  the  young  minister  could  be  absent  on  the  Lord's-day.  Once,  when 
he  did  spend  a  Sabbath,  as  well  as  some  week-days  in  Scotland,  he  was  able,  on  his 


oS*^  C.     H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

return,  to  pay  into  the  treasury  the  sum  of  /391  as  the  net  result  of  his  visit  to 
Glasgow  and  Edinburoh.  He  also  continued,  as  far  as  he  was  able,  to  preach  on 
behalf  of  various  provincial  churches  which  sought  his  aid  ;  and  it  sometimes 
happened  that  where  the  collections  had  been  given  one  year  towards  the  new 
Tabernacle,  the  next  year  Mr.  Spurgeon  would  go  again,  and  raise  as  large  a  sum  as 
possible  for  the  funds  of  those  who  had  previously  helped  him. 

A  bare  outline  of  these  week-day  services,  even  if  it  could  be  made,  would  occupy 
far  more  space  than  can  be  spared  in  this  work.  There  is  no  need  to  attempt  the 
task,  for  that  campaign  of  love  is  recorded  on  high,  and  it  is  gladl\-  and  gratefully 
remembered  in  thousands  of  the  cities,  and  towns,  and  villages  of  the  United 
Kingdom  ;  and  the  story  of  it  has  been  told,  again  and  again,  from  sire  to  son,  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  land.  Eternity  alone  will  reveal  how  great  was  the 
young  evangelist's  influence  upon  the  religious  life  of  that  portion  of  the  nineteenth 
century  ;  and  those  who  formed  a  part  of  his  vast  audiences  may  well  treasure 
in  their  memories,  and  hand  on  to  their  descendants,  reminiscences  of  the 
notable  incidents  of  those  long-past  days.  Just  a  few  representative  instances  only 
can  be  given,  from  which  may  be  gathered  something  of  the  character  of  the 
"  labours  more  abundant  "  in  which  the  New  Park  Street  Pastor  was  engaged  in 
addition  to  his  arduous  occupation  in  connection  with  his  ever-growing  church 
and  work. 

In  London,  Mr.  Spurgeon's  services  were  constantly  in  request  every  day  or 
hour  that  was  not  required  to  meet  the  claims  of  his  pastorate  ;  and  he  was  ever  the 
ready  and  willing  advocate  of  all  who  were  downtrodden  and  oppressed.  In  a 
discourse  upon  Isaiah  Ixii.  10, — "  Gather  out  the  stones," — delivered  at  the  Scotch 
Church,  Regent  Square,  on  February  22,  1858,  in  aid  of  the  Early  Closing 
Association,  he  gave  utterance  to  sentiments  which  are  as  appropriate  to  the  present 
time  as  to  the  occasion  when  they  were  first  spoken,  although  "  early  closing  "  has 
made  great  advances  during  the  intervening  period.  After  trying  to  remove,  out  of 
the  way  ot  those  who  desired  to  tread  the  Heavenly  road,  such  "stones"  as  these, — 
([)  the  supposed  sacred  character  of  the  buildings  in  which  the  gospel  was  preached, 
(2)  the  obscure  and  learned  language  of  many  of  the  preachers,  (3)  the  inconsistencies 
or  gloominess  of  professors  of  religion, — Mr.  Spurgeon  thus  referred  to  the  object 
for  which  he  had  been  asked  to  preach  : — 

"  And  now,  what  else  have  you  to  say  ?  Perhaps  you  reply,  '  What  you  say 
is  well  and  good  ;  no  doubt  religion  is  a  holy  and  Heavenly  thing  ;  but,  sir,  there  is 
one  more  stone  in  my  path, — can  you  take  that  away  ?  I  am  so  engaged  in  business 
that  It  is  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  attend  to  the  concerns  of  my  soul.  From 
Monday  morning  to  Saturday  night, — or,   rather,   till   Sunday  morning, — it  is  work, 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  337 

work,  work,  and  I  scarcely  seem  to  throw  myself  upon  my  bed  before  I  have  to 
rise  in  the  morning,  and  resume  my  tasks.  You  invite  me  to  come  to  your  place  of 
worship  on  the  Sabbath  morning ;  do  you  wish  me  to  go  there  to  sleep  ?  You 
ask  me  to  come  and  listen  to  the  minister  ;  if  you  fetched  an  angel  from  Heaven,  and 
gave  him  Gabriel's  trumpet,  with  which  he  could  wake  the  dead,  then  I  might  listen  ; 
but  I  require  something  almost  as  powerful  as  that  to  keep  my  poor  eyelids  open. 
I  should  be  snoring  while  the  saints  were  singing  ;  why  should  I  come  to  mar  your 
worship  ?  What  is  the  use  of  the  minister  telling  me  to  take  the  yoke  of  Christ  upon 
me,  because  His  yoke  is  easy,  and  His  burden  is  light?  I  know  not  whether 
Christ's  yoke  be  easy,  but  I  know  that  the  yoke  a  so-called  Christian  population  puts 
upon  me  is  not  easy.  I  have  to  toil  as  much  as  if  I  were  a  slave,  and  the  Israelites 
in  the  brick-kilns  of  Egypt  could  hardly  have  sweated  more  fearfully  under  the 
taskmaster's  lash  than  I  do.  Oh,  sir,  this  is  the  great  stone  in  the  midst  of  my  path  ; 
and  it  so  impedes  me,  that  it  is  all  in  vain  for  you  to  talk  to  me  of  Christianity  while 
this  obstacle  is  in  my  way  !  ' 

"  I  tell  you  all,  that  this  barrier  is  like  the  great  stone  that  was  laid  at  the  door 
of  the  sepulchre  of  the  dead  Christ.  Unless  you  try  to  remove  it,  where  is  the  hope 
of  getting  these  people  under  the  sound  of  the  Word  ?  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  came, 
this  evening,  to  preach  a  sermon  on  behalf  of  the  Early  Closing  Movement.  I  felt 
that  I  could  not  make  that  matter  the  staple  of  my  discourse  ;  but  that  I  might  bring 
it  in  as  one  of  the  points  to  which  I  would  ask  your  very  special  attention,  and  I  am 
endeavouring  to  do  so.  I  do  think.  Christian  people,  that  you  ought  to  take  this 
stone  out  of  the  path  of  those  who  are  without  ;  and  to  do  so,  you  must  put  a  stop  to 
that  evil  but  common  custom  of  visiting  shops  and  houses  of  business  at  a  late  hour. 
If  you  make  a  man  work  so  many  hours  in  the  six  days,— ^really,  it  is  twelve  days  in  six, 
for  what  is  it  better  than  that  when  he  has  two  days'  labour  crowded  into  every  one  ? 
— how  can  you  expect  the  Sabbath  to  be  kept  sacred  by  him  ?  And  even  if  the  man 
is  willing  so  to  keep  it,  how  can  you  imagine  that  he  can  be  in  a  proper  frame  of 
devotion  when  he  comes  into  the  house  of  God  ?  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  able  to 
save  to  the  uttermost  ;  were  He  not,  the  salvation  of  poor  dressmakers,  and  young 
men  employed  in  drapers'  and  other  shops,  would  be  impossible  ;  for  it  is  saving  to 
the  uttermost  when  He  saves  them  nothwithstanding  their  exhaustion,  and  gives  them 
strength  to  feel  and  repent,  when  they  have  scarcely  physical  and  mental  power  enough 
left  for  any  effort  at  all.  O  brethren  and  sisters,  gather  out  the  stones  !  If  you 
cannot  take  them  all  away,  do  not  strew  the  road  more  thickly  with  them  by  unthink- 
ingly keeping  your  fellow-creatures  at  work  when  they  ought  to  be  at  rest. 

'•  There  are  many  young  men  and  women,  who  are  seeking  something  higher 
than  the  dust  and  ashes  of  this  world,  who  might  be  converted  to  Christ,  and  who 
might  be  happy,  but  who  are  restrained  because  they  have  not  the  time  which  they 


33^  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

desire  for  seeking  the  Lord.  I  say  not  that  it  is  a  vaUd  excuse  for  them  to  make, — 
for  very  little  time  is  needed  for  the  exercise  of  repentance  and  faith  ; — but  I  do  say  that 
there  are  hundreds  and  thousands  who  are  hindered  from  coming  to  Christ,  and  have 
their  early  religious  impressions  checked  and  damped,  and  their  convictions  stifled, 
and  the  first  dawn  of  a  better  life  quenched  within  them,  because  of  the  cruel  system 
of  the  present  state  of  society.  I  remember  seeing  a  good  farmer  stop  his  chaise, 
and  let  his  old  grey  pony  stand  still  while  he  got  down  to  pick  off  the  road  the 
bottom  of  a  glass  bottle,  and  throw  it  over  the  hedge.  '  Ah  !  '  he  said,  '  I  remember 
how  my  pony  cut  his  foot  by  stepping  on  a  glass  bottle,  and  I  should  not  like  anyone 
to  lame  a  valuable  horse  in  the  same  way,  so  I  thought  I  would  get  out,  and  remove 
the  cause  of  danger.'  Let  all  of  us  act  in  the  same  fashion  as  that  old  farmer  did, 
and  gather  out  all  stones  that  may  be  an  occasion  of  stumbling  to  any  of  our 
brothers  and  sisters." 

It  must  have  been  a  memorable  sight  for  those  who  saw  the  Surrey  Gardens 
Music  Hall  packed  on  a  week-day  morning, — April  28,  1858,  when  Mr.  Spurgeon 
preached  the  annual  sermon  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  from  Psalm  xlvi.  8,  9  : 
"Come,  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord,  what  desolations  He  hath  made  in  the  earth. 
He  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  ;  He  breaketh  the  bow,  and 
cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder;  He  burneth  the  chariot  in  the  fire."  The  discourse  is 
published  in  T/ie  Nciu  Park  Street  Pulpit,  under  the  tide,  "  The  Desolations  of 
the  Lord,  the  Consolation  of  His  Saints,"  so  it  need  not  be  described  at  length  ; 
but  it  is  interesting  to  note  Dr.  Campbell's  comment  on  the  new  era  which  had 
dawned  in  connection  with  the  Society's  anniversary  : — 

"The  missionary  sermon  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  on  Wednesday,  at  the  Surrey 
Music  Hall,  was  a  magnificent  affair.  The  immense  edifice  was  crowded  to 
overflowing  at  the  early  hour  of  1 1  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  The  great  preacher 
was,  as  usual,  completely  at  home,  full  of  heart,  vivacity,  and  business.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
cannot  devote  weeks,  if  not  months,  to  the  preparation  of  such  a  sermon,  and  then 
take  a  fortnight's  rest  to  recruit  his  strength  before  the  great  day.  All  his  days  are 
great,  and  they  come  in  such  rapid  succession  as  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  finish 
and  elaboration,  even  if  he  aspired  to  it.  But,  with  him,  there  is  no  aiming  at 
greatness :  exhibition  has  no  place  in  his  thoughts.  He  scorns  it.  \Miat  the 
occasion  supplies,  amid  ceaseless  toils,  past  and  coming,  is  all  that  he  seeks,  and  all 
that  he  gives.  In  the  proper  sense,  he  preaches  ;  and  preaches,  not  to  the  ministers, 
but  to  the  people  ;  and  he  has  his  reward.  He  has  no  conception  of  reading  a 
treatise,  by  way  of  a  May  Meeting  sermon,  extending  to  two  or  three  hours  !  This 
he  would  deem  a  perversion  of  his  office,  and  an  insult  to  his  hearers.  His  discourse 
on  Wednesday  was  of  the  usual  length,  and  of  the  usual  character,  only  throughout 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  339 

highly  missionary.      Common  sense  in   this,  as  in  most  of  Mr.   Spurgeon's  doings, 
obtained  for  once  a  thorough  triumph.      The  collection  amounted  to  nearly  ;/^i50." 

Two  notable  week-day  sermons  were  preached  by  Mr.  Spurgeon,  on  Friday, 
June  II,  1858,  on  the  Grand  Stand,  Epsom  race-course.  The  text  in  the  afternoon 
was  singularly  suitable  to  such  a  place  :  "  So  run,  that  ye  may  obtain  ; "  in  the 
evening,  the  discourse  was  a  powerful  gospel  invitation  founded  upon  Isaiah  Iv.  i  : 
"Yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without  price."  There  was  a 
large  congregation  on  each  occasion,  ^60  was  contributed  towards  the  funds  of  a 
chapel  in  Epsom,  and  none  who  were  present  were  likely  to  forget  the  unusual 
purpose  to  which  "  Satan's  seat "  was  that  day  devoted. 

In  August,  1858,  Mr.  Spurgeon  paid  his  first  visit  to  Ireland,  and  preached 
four  sermons  in  Belfast.  He  gave  his  services  freely,  in  order  that  the  whole  of  the 
proceeds  might  help  the  Young  Men's  Intellectual  Improvement  Association  to 
build  new  school-rooms.  That  he  was  in  a  very  unfit  state  of  health  tor  making  such 
an  effort,  is  evident  from  his  remarks  at  the  Music  Hall  service  on  the  Sabbath 
morning  after  his  return.  Preaching  on  the  words,  "  As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy  strength 
be,"  he  said  : — "  Children  of  God,  cannot  you  say  that  this  has  been  true  hitherto.'' 
/can.  It  might  seem  egotistical  if  I  were  to  talk  of  the  evidence  I  have  received 
of  this  during  the  past  week  ;  but,  nevertheless,  I  cannot  help  recording  my  praise  to 
God.  I  left  this  pulpit,  last  Sunday,  as  sick  as  any  man  ever  left  the  pulpit  ;  and  I 
lelt  this  country,  too,  as  ill  as  I  could  be  ;  but  no  sooner  had  I  set  my  foot  upon  the 
other  shore,  where  I  was  to  preach  the  gospel,  than  my  wonted  strength  entirely 
returned  to  me.  I  had  no  sooner  buckled  on  the  harness  to  go  iorth  to  fight  my 
Master's  battle,  than  every  ache  and  pain  was  gone,  and  all  my  sickness  fled  ;  and  as 
my  day  was,  so  certainly  was  my  strength." 

The  first  sermon  was  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  undecided  ;  the  text  was 
Mark  xii.  34  :  "And  when  |esus  saw  that  he  answered  discreetly.  He  said  unto  him, 
Thou  art  not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of  God.  '  Twenty-three  years  afterwards, 
Mr.  Spurgeon  received,  from  a  missionary,  the  following  cheering  note  : — 

"  Your  first  sermon  in  Belfast  caused  me  to  decide  finally  to  enter  the  ministry. 
Since  then,  I  have  given  ten  years  to  mission  work  in  Damascus,  where  I  built  the 
first  church  ever  erected  tor  the  spiritual  worship  of  the  true  God  in  that  city.  I 
built  two  churches  on  Mount  Hermon,  and  again  and  again  I  have  preached  there 
your  sermons  in  Arabic  ;  one  of  them  was  delivered  on  the  top  of  Mount  Hermon 
at  a  picnic  given  to  our  different  villagers." 

The  second  discourse  was  upon  a  subject  of  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  especially 
fond.      In  those  early  days,  if  he  was  preaching  several  sermons  at  any  place,  one  of 


34C  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

them  was  almost  certain  tc  be  founded  upon  Revelation  xiv.  i — 3  : — "  And  I  looked, 
and,  lo,  a  Lamb  stood  on  the  Mount  Sion,  and  with  Him  an  hundred  forty  and  four 
thousand,  having  His  Father's  Name  written  in  their  foreheads.  And  I  heard  a  voice 
from  Heaven,  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  a  great  thunder  :  and 
I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps  :  and  they  sung  as  it  were  a 
new  song  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  four  beasts,  and  the  elders  :  and  no  man 
could  learn  that  song  but  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand,  which  were 
redeemed  from  the  earth  ;" — and  in  the  course  of  the  sermon,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
usually  introduced  a  few  sentences  describing  his  love  for  the  harp.  It  was  so  at 
Belfast,  as  the  following  extract  shows  : — 

"  John  says,  '  I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps.'  Surely,  of 
all  instruments,  the  harp  is  the  sweetest.  The  organ  has  a  swelling  grandeur,  but 
the  harp  has  a  softness  and  sweetness  about  it  that  might  well  make  it  a  fit 
instrument  for  a  royal  musician  like  David.  I  must  confess  that  a  harp  has 
so  great  a  charm  for  me  that  I  have  sometimes  found  myself  standing  in  the 
street,  listening  to  some  old  harper  making  music  on  his  harp.  I  have  bidden  him 
come  into  the  house  and  play  to  me,  that  I  might  prepare  a  sermon  while  he  played  ; 
and  I  have  found  comfort,  and  my  heart  has  been  stirred  within  me,  as  I  have 
listened  to  the  thrilling  strains.  The  singing  in  Heaven  has  all  the  tender  melody  of 
the  harp,  while  it  thunders  like  the  rolling  sea.  Why  is  this  ?  Because  there  are  no 
hypocrites  there,  and  no  iormalists  there,  to  make  a  jarring  noise,  and  spoil  the 
harmony.     There  are — 

" '  No  groans  to  mingle  with  the  songs 
Which  warble  from  immortal  tongues.' 

No  pain,  nor  distress,  nor  death,  nor  sin,  can  ever  reach  that  blessed  place  ;  there  is 
no  drawback  to  the  happiness  of  the  glorified  spirits  above.  They  all  sing  sweetly 
there,  for  they  are  all  perfect  ;  and  they  sing  all  the  more  loudly,  because  they  all 
owe  that  perfection  to  free  and  sovereign  grace." 

The  text  of  the  third  sermon  was  Matthew  xxviii.  5  : — "  The  angel  answered 
and  said  unto  the  women.  Fear  not  ye  :  for  I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  which  was 
crucified," — and  was  specially  aimed  at  finding  out  and  comforting  true  seekers. 

The  last  of  the  four  services  was  held  in  the  Botanic  Gardens,  when  it  was 
estimated  that  7,000  persons  heard  the  discourse  delivered  from  Matthew  i.  21  : 
"  Thou  shalt  call  His  Name  JESUS  :  for  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins." 
Towards  the  end  of  the  sermon,  Mr.  Spurgeon  told  the  story  of  Jack  the  Huckster, 
whose  theology  was  comprised  in  the  familiar  lines, — 

"  I'm  a  poor  sinner,  and  nothing  at  all, 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  All-in-all." 

In  closing  the  service,   the  preacher  said  . — "  I   have  to  thank  you  all   for  the 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRArH V.  34I 

kindness  with  which  I  have  been  received,  and  especially  I  have  to  thank  the 
ministers  of  Belfast.  I  never  was  in  a  town  in  my  life  where  I  met  with  such  a  noble 
body  of  men  who  love  the  good  old  truth,  and  I  can  say  that  I  love  every  one  of 
them.  I  thank  them  for  all  the  kind  things  they  have  said  to  me  and  concerning  me, 
and  I  wish  them  and  all  my  friends  a  hearty  good-bye,  and  may  the  day  come  when 
we  shall  all  meet  in  Heaven  !  " 

Mr.  Spurgeon  went  to  Ireland  many  times  after  this,  and  Irish  friends 
contributed  very  generously  to  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle.  On  one  ot  his 
visits,  after  the  great  revival,  when  preaching  in  Exeter  Hall,  from  Amos  ix.  13, — 
"  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  the  plowman  shall  overtake  the  reaper, 
and  the  treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed  ;  and  the  mountains  shall  drop  sweet 
wine,  and  all  the  hills  shall  melt," — he  said  :  — 

"  Here  we  are  told  that  '  the  mountains  shall  drop  sweet  wine  ;  '  by  which  we 
are  to  understand  that  conversions  shall  take  place  in  unusual  quarters.  Brethren, 
this  day  is  this  promise  literally  fulfilled  to  us.  I  have  this  week  seen  what  I  never 
saw  before.  It  has  been  my  lot,  these  last  six  years,  to  preach  to  crowded  congre- 
gations, and  to  have  many,  many  souls  brought  to  Christ  ;  it  has  been  no  unusual 
thing  for  us  to  see  the  greatest  and  noblest  of  the  land  listening  to  the  Word  of  God  ; 
but  this  week  I  have  seen,  I  repeat,  what  mine  eyes  have  never  before  beheld,  used 
as  I  am  to  extraordinary  sights.  I  have  seen  the  people  of  Dublin,  without  excep- 
tion, from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  crowd  in  to  hear  the  gospel  ;  and  I  have  known 
that  my  congregation  has  been  composed  in  a  considerable  measure  ot  Roman 
Catholics,  and  I  have  beheld  them  listening  to  the  Word  with  as  much  attention  as 
though  they  had  been  Protestants.  I  have  noticed  military  men,  whose  tastes  and 
habits  were  not  like  those  of  the  Puritanic  minister,  but  who  have  nevertheless 
sat  to  listen  ;  nay,  they  have  come  again,  and  have  made  it  a  point  to  find  the  place 
where  they  could  hear  the  best,  and  have  submitted  to  be  crowded  if  they  might 
but  hear  the  Word.  I  have  heard,  too,  cheering  news  of  men,  who  could  not  speak 
without  larding  their  conversation  with  oaths,  who  have  come  to  hear  the  Word  ;  they 
have  been  convinced  of  sin  ;  and  I  trust  there  has  been  a  work  done  in  them  which 
will  last  throughout  eternity. 

"  But  the  most  pleasing  thing  I  have  seen  is  this,  and  I  must  tell  it  to  you.  Hervey 
once  said,  '  Each  floating  ship,  a  floating  hell'  Of  all  classes  of  men,  the  sailor  has 
been  supposed  to  be  the  one  least  likely  to  be  reached  by  the  gospel.  In  crossing- 
over  from  Holyhead  to  Dublin  and  back, — two  excessively  rough  passages, — I  spent 
the  most  pleasant  hours  that  I  ever  remember.  The  first  vessel  that  I  entered,  I  found 
my  hand  very  heartily  shaken  by  the  sailors.  I  thought,  '  What  can  these  men  know 
of  me  ?  '     They  began  calling  me  '  Brother'     Of  course,  I  felt  that  I  was  their  brother  ; 


342  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

but  I  did  not  know  how  they  came  to  talk  to  me  in  that  way.  It  is  not  usual 
for  sailors  to  call  a  minister  '  Brother.'  They  paid  me  the  utmost  attention  ; 
and  when  1  made  the  enquiry,  '  What  makes  you  so  kind  .'' '  '  Why  ! '  said  one, 
'because  I  love  your  Master,  the  Lord  Jesus.'  I  enquired,  and  found  that,  out  of 
the  whole  crew,  there  were  but  three  unconverted  men  ;  and  that,  though  the  most  of 
them  had  been  before  without  God,  and  without  Christ,  yet,  by  a  sudden  visitation  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  they  had  nearly  all  been  converted.  I  talked  to  many  of  these  men  ; 
and  more  spiritually-minded  men,  I  never  saw.  They  have  a  prayer-meeting 
every  morning  before  the  boat  starts,  and  another  prayer-meeting  after  she 
comes  into  port;  and  on  Sundays,  when  they  lie-to  off  Kingstown  or  Holyhead,  a 
minister  comes  on  board,  and  preaches  the  gospel.  Service  is  held  on  deck  when  it 
is  possible  ;  and  an  eye-witness  said  to  me,  '  The  minister  preaches  very  earnestly, 
but  I  should  like  you  to  hear  the  men  pray  ;  I  never  heard  such  pleading  before,  they 
pray  as  only  sailors  can  pray.'  My  heart  was  lifted  up  with  joy,  to  think  of  a  ship 
being  made  a  floating  church, — a  very  Bethel. 

"  Wlien  I  came  back  by  another  steamer,  I  did  not  expect  to  have  my  previous 
experience  repeated  ;  but  it  was.  The  same  kind  of  work  had  been  going  on  among 
these  sailors;  I  walked  among  them,  and  talked  to  them.  They  all  knew  me.  One  man 
took  out  of  his  pocket  an  old  leather-covered  book  in  Welsh,  and  said  to  me,  '  Do 
you  know  the  likeness  of  that  man  in  front.'*'  '  Yes,'  I  replied,  '  I  think  I  do  ;  do  you 
read  those  sermons  ? '  '  Yes,  sir,'  he  answered,  '  we  have  had  your  sermons  on  board 
ship,  and  I  read  them  aloud  as  often  as  I  can.  If  we  have  a  fine  passage  coming 
over,  I  get  a  few  around  me,  and  read  them  a  sermon.'  Another  man  told  me  the 
story  of  a  gentleman  who  stood  laughing  while  a  hymn  was  being  sung  ;  so  one  of 
the  sailors  proposed  that  they  should  pray  for  him.  They  did  so,  and  the  man 
was  suddenly  smitten  down,  and  on  the  quay  began  to  cry  for  mercy,  and  plead  with 
God  for  pardon.  '  Ah  !  sir,'  said  the  sailors,  '  we  have  the  best  proof  that  there  is  a 
God  here,  for  we  have  seen  this  crew  marvellously  brought  to  a  knowledge  ot  the 
truth  ;  and  here  we  are,  joyful  and  happy  men,  serving  the  Lord.' 

"  Now,  what  shall  we  say  of  this  blessed  work  of  grace,  but  that  the  mountains 
drop  sweet  wine  ?  The  men  who  were  loudest  with  their  oaths,  are  now  loudest 
with  their  songs  ;  those  who  were  the  most  daring  sons  of  Satan,  have  become  the 
most  earnest  advocates  of  the  truth  ;  for,  mark  you,  once  get  sailors  converted,  and 
there  is  no  end  to  the  good  they  can  do.  Of  all  men  who  can  preach  well,  seamen 
are  the  best.  The  sailor  has  seen  the  wonders  of  God  in  the  deep  ;  the  hardy 
British  tar  has  got  a  heart  that  is  not  made  of  such  cold  stuff  as  many  of  the 
hearts  of  landsmen  ;  and  when  that  heart  is  once  touched,  it  gives  big  beats,  and 
sends  great  pulses  of  energy  right  through  his  whole  frame  ;  and  with  his  zeal  and 
energy,  what  may  he  not  do,  God  helping  him,  and  blessing  him  ?  " 


C.      H.      5PURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  343 

So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  Mr.  Spurgeon's  first  sermons  to  a  Welsh 
audience  were  delivered  in  the  ancient  village  ot  Castleton,  midway  between 
Newport  and  Cardiff,  on  Wednesday,  July  20,  1859.  Pastor  T.  W.  Medhurst,  who 
kindly  forwards  this  information,  says  : — 

"  This  visit  is  still  greatly  talked  about  by  the  aged  people  in  the  district ;  I 
have  often  been  delighted  to  see  their  glistening  eyes  as  they  have  related  their 
recollections  of  this  red-letter  day  in  their  past  experience.  Never  in  the  annals 
of  the  village,  either  before  or  since,  has  there  been  anything  at  all  approximating 
to  the  scene  which  was  witnessed  that  day.  For  some  time  previously,  it  had  been 
made  known  through  Monmouthshire  and  Glamorganshire  that  the  popular  preacher, 
C.  H.  Spurgeon,  would  deliver  two  discourses  in  the  open  air  at  Castleton.  The 
excitement  among  the  people,  and  especially  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  hill- 
districts,  in  anticipation  of  the  services,  was  immense.  The  question,  '  Are  you 
going-  to  hear  Spurgeon  ? '  took  the  place  of  the  usual  remarks  about  the  weather. 
The  various  railway  companies  ran  excursion  trains,  and  the  result  was  an  enormous 
gathering  of  people  from  all  parts. 

"  The  first  service  began  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  a  field  which  was 
admirably  adapted  for  the  occasion,  as  it  gradually  sloped  to  a  level  at  the  bottom. 
The  seats  were  arranged  in  a  semi-circular  form.  Everyone  had  a  full  \iew  of  the 
preacher,  and  his  powerful  voice  was  distinctly  heard  by  the  nine  or  ten  thousand 
persons  assembled.  Before  announcing  his  text  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — '  My  dear 
friends,  I  most  earnestly  and  humbly  entreat  your  prayers  that  I  may  be  enabled  to 
preach  the  gospel  with  power  this  day.  I  do  not  know  that  at  any  time  I  ever  felt  my 
own  weakness  more  than  I  do  now.  I  recollect  to  what  mighty  men  of  God  some  of 
you  ha\'e  sometimes  listened,  ministers  whose  names  ought  to  be  held  in  reverence  as 
long  as  any  man's  name  endures  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  I  can  scarcely  hope  to 
tread  in  the  footsteps  of  many  of  those  preachers  whom  you  have  heard.  This, 
however,  I  can  say  to  you, — you  may  have  men  in  Wales  who  can  preach  the  gospel 
in  a  better  manner  than  I  can  hope  to  do,  but  you  have  no  one  who  can  preach 
A  BETTER  GOSPEL.  It  is  the  Same  gospel  from  first  to  last,  and  tells  of  the  same 
Saviour,  who  is  ready  to  receive  the  meanest,  the  feeblest,  the  most  guilty,  and 
the  most  vile,  who  come  unto  God  by  Him.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  graciously 
rest  upon  us  now !  I  will  read  my  te.xt  to  you  from  the  Gospel  according  to 
Matthew,  the  twenty-eighth  chapter,  and  the  fifth  verse,  and  then  Mr.  Davies, 
of  Haverfordwest  College,  will  read  it  to  you  in  Welsh, — a  feat  which  I  cannot 
accomplish.' 

"  The  sermon  was  a  most  powerful  discourse,  delivered  with  impassioned 
earnestness  and  fire,  never  surpassed  by  the  most  eloquent  of  the  Welsh  preachers. 
The  text  in  the  evening  was  Revelation  xiv.  i — 3.      Every  word  of  the  preacher  was 


344  .     C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

plainly  audible  to  the  whole  of  the  vast  audiences  at  both  the  services  ;  and  at  the 
close  of  the  day  it  was  remarked  that  his  voice  was  as  clear  and  as  vigorous  as 
at  the  commencement." 

Mr.  Spurgeon  preached  in  the  Principality  on  several  occasions  afterwards  ;  the 
service  to  which  he  refers  on  page  93  was  probably  the  one  held  at  Abercarne  on 
Wednesday,  May  30,  i860,  when  it  was  estimated  that  20,000  persons  heard  the 
discourse  which  he  delivered  in  the  open  air. 

Among  all  the  notable  week-day  services  in  his  earlier  years,  few  were  more 
memorable  to  both  preacher  and  people  than  those  held  in  Paris,  on  Tuesday, 
Wednesday,  and  Thursday,  February  7 — 9,  i860.  The  record  of  them  is  preserved 
in  a  pamphlet  of  thirty-two  pages.  On  the  title-page  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  own  copy 
is  inscribed,  in  his  handwriting: — "  By  Rev.  Wm.  Blood,  who  escaped  at  the  burning 
of  the  Amazon."  This  gentleman  was  temporarily  officiating  as  minister  of  the 
American  Church  in  Paris,  and  he  thus  narrates  the  circumstances  which  resulted  in 
Mr.  Spurgeon's  visit  : — 

"  I  had  not  been  long  in  Paris,  when  it  occurred  to  me  that  a  good  opportunity 
presented  itself  for  inviting  my  friend,  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  to  preach  in  the 
French  capital  ;  hoping  that,  thereby,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  a  revival  might 
commence  in  this  land  of  superstition  and  error.  And  well  knowing  that  France  and  ■ 
the  Continent  offered  a  fine  field  for  missionary  enterprise,  though  awfully  neglected 
since  the  days  of  the  Reformation,  I  did  not  see  why  an  attempt  should  not  be  made 
to  enkindle  the  smoking  embers  of  pure  religion,  which  might  eventually  send  forth 
a  flame  of  light  and  heat  which  would  spread  over  the  entire  country.  It  was  a 
solitary  monk,  in  his  lonely  cell,  who,  discovering  the  Word  of  God,  read  it,  and, 
finding  that  it  cheered  his  otherwise  dismal  hours,  and  gave  light  and  warmth  to  his 
heart,  determined  that  others  should  be  made  happy  by  the  celestial  fire.  He 
snatched  the  torch  of  Divine  truth,  went  forth  from  his  darkness,  and  held  it  up,  that 
all  might  see  the  living  light ;  other  hearts  were  illumined  by  the  same  flame  ;  and, 
soon,  a  blaze  of  Heavenly  truth  spread  all  over  Germany.  WHiy  should  there  not 
be  another  and  even  a  better  Luther  raised  up  in  beautiful  France  .'  Why  not  many  } 
Why  should  not  the  ministry  of  the  Lord's  servant,  which  has  been  blessed  to  the 
conversion  of  so  many  souls  in   Great   Britain,  be  also  blessed  in  this  great  country  ? 

"Still,  there  were  obstacles  to  encounter.  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  engagements 
made  for  almost  every  day  for  two  years  to  come,  and  he  had  refused  to  go  to 
America,  even  for  a  short  time,  although  ^20,000  had  been  offered  to  help  build  his 
chapel  in  London.  I  had,  it  is  true,  preached  for  him  under  peculiar  circumstances 
when  he  had  been  seized  with  severe  illness.      But  would  it  not  be   '  uncanonicar  for 


C.     H.     SPURGEON's    AUTOBIOGRArilV.  345 

a  clerg-yman  to  invite  one  to  preach  not  '  in  holy  orders '  ?  But  is  he  not  '  in  holy 
orders,'  God  having  evidently  'ordered'  him  to  preach  the  gospel  of  peace;  for  he 
can  already  point  to  thousands  of  sinners  made  '  holy '  by  his  preaching,  and  say. 
'The  seals  of  my  ministry  are  ye,  in  the  Lord.'  The  matter  was  then  decided.  I  at 
once  applied  to  my  friend,  Mr.  Curtis, — a  generous  and  noble-spirited  American,  who 
had  originated  the  erection  of  the  American  Chapel, — for  the  use  of  that  building, 
expressing  the  desire  that,  if  any  collection  were  made,  it  might  be  given  to  liquidate 
the  debt  on  the  chapel,  or  for  the  poor.  The  Committee  met  immediately,  when 
the  following  resolution  was  agreed  to  : — 

"  '  Paris,  January  iS,  i860. — The  Committee  have  unanimously  resolved  to  give 
up  the  American  Chapel  to  the  Rev.  William  Blood,  to  be  disposed  of  as  he  thinks 
proper  for  the  use  of  his  friend,  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  ;  but  they  decline  the 
collection  for  the  American  Chapel,  preferring  to  give  it  towards  the  erection  of  the 
chapel  for  Mr.  Spurgeon.' 

"  Application  was  next  made  to  the  Consistoire  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
France  for  the  use  of  a  much  larger  building, — the  Eglise  de  [Oratoire,  nearer  the 
centre  of  Paris.  The  application  was  at  once  responded  to  by  the  following 
resolution  : — 

"'The  Consistoire  held  a  council  last  night,  and  decided  to  lend  the  Eglise  de 
[Oratoire  to  the  Rev.  W.  Blood,  for  the  predications  of  his  friend,  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon.' 

"This  was  accompanied  by  a  few  lines  from  one  of  the  venerable  Pastors,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Grandpierre,  in  which  he  said  : — '  I  fervently  pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
may  bless  the  predications  of  our  brother,  Mr.  Spurgeon,  to  the  conversion  of  many 
souls,  and  the  strengthening  of  the  regenerate  in  the  faith.'  " 

Mr.  Spurgeon  was  then  asked  if  he  would  go  to  Paris,  and  he  cheerfully 
consented  to  preach  three  sermons.  To  the  further  request  that  he  would  deliver 
two  discourses  on  each  of  the  three  days  of  his  visit,  he  replied  : — 

"  My   Dear  Mr.    Blood, 

"  I  am  willing  to  preach  once  en  Tuesday,  in  the  evening,  wherever  you 
please.  Then  twice  on  Wednesday,  and  twice  on  Thursday  ;  but  I  must  return  the 
first  thing  on  Friday  morning.  I  thought  I  was  coming  over  to  serve  the  American 
Church ;  but,  as  the  Committee  prefer  to  give  the  collection  for  the  chapel  in 
London,  I  am  content.  Let  me  stay  in  some  qjiiet  house,  where  I  shall  not  be 
overwhelmed  with  visitors.  The  lionizing  is  the  worst  part  of  my  labours.  I  hope 
the  visit  will  be  blessed  by  God. 

"  Yours  very  heartily, 

"C.    H.    Spurgeon." 


346  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

Mr.  Blood  was  especially  impressed  with  the  self-abnegation  manifested  by  this 
note  ;  and,  writing  after  the  services  had  been  held,  he  thus  referred  to  INIr. 
Spurgeon's  disinterestedness  in  being  willing  "  to  serve  the  American  Church"  in 
Paris,  when  he  had  need  of  such  a  large  amount  to  complete  the  Tabernacle  : — 

"  He  had  no  idea  that  the  building  of  his  chapel  would  be  benefited  by  his  visit. 
He  expressed  astonishment  when  he  heard  for  the  first  time  that  it  was  proposed 
to  be  so.  This  ought  at  once  to  silence  the  slander  of  some  evil-disposed 
correspondents  of  the  London  newspapers  in  their  false  reports  of  the  collections 
made  in  the  American  Chapel.  Had  those  collections  been  made  properly,^  as  I 
suggested,  either  for  the  American  Chapel  or  that  in  London,  or  for  the  poor  of  Paris, 
or  had  Mr.  Spurgeon  been  in  the  least  degree  anxious  on  the  subject,  the  collections 
might  have  been  ^600,  instead  of  ^60.  But  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  not  at  all  consulted, 
neither  did  he  pass  a  thought  upon  the  matter  ;  for  he  was  invited  for  one  object, 
and  for  that  alone  he  came, — viz.,  to  seek  to  lead  souls  to  Christ  ;  and,  thank  God, 
this  great  result  has  been  attained  in  several  cases  already  known  !  If  it  were 
prudent,  many  instances  might  be  given  as  illustrations  of  this  remark.  One  fact, 
may,  however,  be  stated  here.  An  English  gentleman,  occupying  a  high  position  in 
Paris,  who  had  not  entered  any  church  for  years,  was  led  by  curiosity,  from  the 
reports  of  the  popularity  of  the  preacher,  to  go  and  hear  him.  .Some  days  after,  a 
friend  of  the  writer  called  to  see  him  at  his  office,  and  was  astonished  to  find  him  in 
a  state  of  great  excitement,  weeping  as  if  some  great  calamity  had  fallen  upon  his 
household.  The  Bible,  which  he  had  been  reading,  was  open  before  him.  His 
visitor  enquired  what  was  the  matter  with  him  ;  and  the  gentleman  replied  that  '  he 
had  gone  to  hear  that  young  man  (Mr.  Spurgeon)  preach,  his  eyes  had  been  opened 
to  a  consciousness  of  his  real  state  before  God,  he  had  been  led  to  see  himself  as  a 
sinner  of  the  vilest  description,  without  God  and  without  Christ  in  the  world,  and  he 
was  searching  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  try  to  find  some  ray  of  hope.'  This  and 
similar  language  described  his  state  of  mind,  while  it  so  excited  the  sympathy  and 
emotion  of  his  friend  that  they  wept  together,  and  joined  in  praying  to  God  for 
mercy.  His  daughter,  too,  was  similarly  affected.  She  was  a  lady  of  fashion, 
though  a  religionist  of  the  most  formal  kind.  She  had  been  scrupulous,  like  the 
apostle  in  his  unconverted  state,  in  attending  to  all  the  ceremonial  of  outward 
religion.  She  had  been  '  alive  without  the  law  once,'  and  even  having  the  law  she 
was  blind  as  to  its  spiritual  nature  and  convincing  power ;  but  now.  '  the 
commandment  came,'  applied  to  her  conscience  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  .Spirit, 
and  she  '  died  '  in  despair  as  to  any  hope  that  the  violated  law  could  give  her  life, 
or  even  the  promise  of  life.      She  saw  her  need  of  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  Son 

*  Mr   Spurgeon  dispensed  with  the  collection  from  pew  to  pew,  arui  simply  had  the  plates  held  at  the  doors  to  receive  the 
voluntary  offermgs  of  the  worshippers. 


C.     H.     SPURGEONS    AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  347 

of  God  ;  she  shut  herself  up  in  her  room,  and  there,  in  agony  of  soul,  sought  the 
Saviour,  gave  up  all  dependence  on  her  own  righteousness,  and  submitted  herself  to 
'the  righteousness  of  Christ.'" 

One  specimen  of  the  reports  published  in  certain  London  newspapers  will  show 
that  Mr.  Blood  did  not  write  at  all  too  strongly  when  he  alluded  to  "  the  slander  of 
some  evil-disposed  correspondents  "  concerning  the  collections  at  the  services  : — 

"  The  unconquerable  Spurgeon  left  Paris  this  morning,  through  which  he 
passed,  as  it  were,  like  a  whirlwind.  The  Parisian  public,  however,  seemed  far  less 
enchanted  with  him  than  he  appeared  to  be  with  himself  Perhaps  there  might 
be  good  reason  for  this.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  moral  result  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  eloquence,  it  is  certain  that  he  has  but  little  cause  of  complaint  against 
the  effect  which  he  produced,  for  the  extreme  generosity  of  his  congregations 
evinced  itself  in  the  well-filled  plates,  which,  piled  up  with  gold  pieces,  excited 
the  astonishment  of  the  few  French  listeners  who  had  come,  as  usual,  provided  with 
their  ten-sous-pieces,  and  who,  on  perceiving  the  magnificence  displayed  by  the 
English  portion  of  the  audience,  feeling  ashamed  of  the  contrast,  passed  by,  and  gave 
nothing  at  all.  I  have  heard  of  a  discontented  individual,  perhaps  a  rival  French 
pastor,  who  left  at  the  church  a  parcel  of  some  weight  and  breadth,  as  his  contribu- 
tion to  the  erection  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle.  It  was  a  tempting-looking 
packet,  beautifully  enveloped  in  silver  paper,  and  carefully  tied  with  rose-coloured 
ribbon.  The  chronicle  speaks  not  of  the  varied  emotions  which  must  have  agitated 
the  heart  of  the  person  who  opened  it,  but  merely  mentions  that  its  contents  consisted 
of  a  small  brick  from  the  factory  of  St.  Germain,  with  a  most  polite  note,  in  which 
the  writer,  regretting  his  inability  to  vie  with  the  other  contributors  in  money  to 
that  mighty  work,  begged  to  offer  his  petit  possible  in  kind,  expressing  his  opinion 
that,  if  every  one  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  legions  of  admirers  were  to  do  the  same,  not 
merely  a  church,  but  a  city  might  be  built  with  the  materials  thus  collected.  The 
friends  of  Lamartine,  like  those  of  '  Holloway,'  '  Rowland,'  and  '  Day  and  Martin,' 
who  never  lose  the  opportunity  of  aiding  their  cause  by  the  passing  events  of 
the  day,  have  already  made  good  use  of  the  rotdeaux  of  napoleons  with  which  it 
was  reported  the  plates  of  Spurgeon  were  well-nigh  filled,  and  have  pathetically 
compared  the  state  of  things  they  represent  to  that  demonstrated  by  the  miserable 
sum  of  five  hundred  thousand  francs,  subscribed  by  '  all  France  and  foreign  countries,' 
which  poor  Lamartine  is  obliged  to  pocket  while  waiting  for  the  rest,  which  does  not 
come. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon's  egotism  and  arrogance  have  carried  him  so  far  as  to  advertise 
his  sectarian  chapel  as  'The  Metropolitan  Tabernacle,'  thus  ignoring  all  the  other 
Dissenting  chapels  and  ministers.      The  next  step,  doubtless,  will  be  to  call  himself 


348  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography, 

the  'Metropolitan'  and  his  building  the  cathedral,  thus  ignoring  also  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  ;  but  that  humble  and  modest  Christian  will  not  dispute  the  point  with 
this  upstart,  even  though  he  were  ready  to  advertise  his  ready-cash  shop  as  '  The 
Metropolitan  Tea  Warehouse  !  !  But  pride  and  avarice  will  soon  be  discovered, 
especially  when  the  holiest  and  most  sacred  subjects  are  used  to  fan  the  flame." 

In  vivid  contrast  to  the  above  was  the  following  article,  written  by  Dr. 
Grandpierre,   and  published  in  the   French  religious  paper,  L' Espdrance : — 

"The  eminent  preacher  officiated  three  times  at  the  American  Chapel,  Rue  de 
Berri,  and  twice  at  the  Church  of  the  Oratoire.  The  subject  of  his  first  discourse  in 
the  American  Chapel  was,  'Salvation'  (Acts  xvi.  31);  that  of  the  second,  'The 
Unfathomable  Love  of  Christ'  (Ephesians  iii.  19);  and  the  third,  'Jesus,  the 
Shepherd  of  the  Faithful  '  (Psalm  xxiii.  i).  At  the  Oratoire,  he  preached,  the  first 
time,  on  'Prayer'  (Psalm  Ixxiii.  2S),  and  the  second,  on  'The  New  Song  of  the 
Redeemed  '   (Revelation  xiv.  i — 3). 

"  No  one  will  feel  inclined  to  contradict  us  when  we  declare  that  this  celebrated 
orator  fully  justified,  or  even  surpassed,  the  high  opinion  which  the  generality  of  his 
auditors  had  conceived  of  him.  Mr.  Spurgeon  appears  of  a  strong  constitution, 
and  nothing  in  his  exterior  betrays  at  first  the  excellence  of  the  gifts  which  so 
particularly  distinguish  him.  As  a  Christian,  he  is  animated  by  the  warmest  piety  ; 
and,  from  his  whole  person,  there  seems  to  shine  the  sacred  fire  of  the  love  of  souls. 
One  feels  that  he  preaches  especially  for  the  salvation  of  unconverted  sinners,  and 
for  the  strengthening  of  the  faith  of  those  who  are  regenerate.  As  a  theologian,  his 
doctrine  is  clear,  precise,  square, — we  might  say  ;  he  is  Calvinistic,  incontestably, — 
but  moderately  so.  It  was,  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  that  we  heard  him  proclaim, 
from  the  pulpit  of  the  Oratoire,  with  a  vigour  and  a  clearness  equalled  only  by  his 
eloquence,  the  perfect  Divinity  of  the  Saviour,  and  redemption  by  the  expiation  of 
His  death,  the  eternal  election  of  the  children  of  God,  and  other  essential  points. 

"  As  an  orator,  he  is  simple  and  powerful,  clear  and  abundant.  The  plans  of 
his  sermons  are  easy  to  comprehend  and  to  follow  ;  his  developments  are  logical, 
and  his  language,  always  flowing  and  elegant,  never  fatigues.  One  would  willingly 
hear  him  for  hours  at  a  time.  Among  the  requisites  to  oratory  which  he  possesses 
in  a  remarkable  degree,  three  particularly  struck  us, — a  prodigious  memory,  which 
furnishes  him,  on  the  instant,  with  the  comparisons,  facts,  and  images,  best  calculated 
to  throw  light  upon  his  ideas ; — a  full  and  harmonious  voice,  which  he  modulates  with 
peculiar  ease,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  tone, — and,  lastly,  a  most  fruitful 
imagination,  giving  colour  to  all  his  thoughts,  constantly  varying  their  expression, 
and  painting  to  the  eye  of  the  mind  the  truths  of  Christ. 

"  Mr.   Spurgeon  is  in  reality  a  poet.     But  without  having  heard  him,  an  idea 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  349 

can  scarcely  be  formed  of  the  richness  of  his  conceptions, — never,  however,  carrying 
him  beyond  the  simplicity  of  the  Christian  pulpit,  or  the  dignity  of  a  minister  of 
Christ.  It  is  affirmed  that  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  never  been  to  College,  and  has  been  in 
the  habit  of  preaching  since  the  age  of  seventeen.  He  is  not  yet  six-and-twenty  ;  but 
once  having  heard  him  is  enough  to  convince  us  that,  in  every  respect,  physically, 
morally,  and  spiritually,  God  has  specially  qualified  him  to  be  an  orator, — and  a 
Christian  orator.  He  has  left,  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  his  auditory,  the  most 
pleasing,  and,  let  us  hope,  the  most  salutary  impression.  Before  and  after  his 
preaching,  special  meetings  tor  private  and  public  prayer  took  place,  in  order  to  beg 
of  God  to  bless  his  proclamation  of  the  gospel. 

"  We  have  no  doubt  that  some  souls  have  been  converted.  We  are  certain 
that  all  Christians  must  have  felt  their  activity  and  inner  life  invigorated  and 
reanimated.  Our  dear  and  honoured  brother  has  received  the  most  fraternal 
reception  from  the  Christians  of  every  Evangelical  denomination  in  this  capital,  and 
he  quitted  us,  apparendy  touched,  grateful,  and  happy,  promising  to  return,  if 
possible,  shortly,  to  visit  us  again.  For  our  part,  we  bless  God  that  the  Council  of 
our  Reformed  Church  at  Paris  has  considered  it  an  honour  and  a  privilege  to 
respond  to  the  request  of  his  friend,  in  opening  for  him  the  doors  of  its  great  temple, 
which,  during  both  services,  was  filled  with  a  compact  crowd.  In  the  midst  of  this 
vast  assemblage,  the  members  of  our  own  church  were  happily  by  no  means  in  a 
minority.  Our  church  has  thus  once  more  given  proof  that  she  possesses  manv 
families  who  value  and  appreciate  the  faithful  and  living  exposition  of  the  doctrine 
of  our   Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

Even  more  remarkable  was  the  article  in  the  Journal  dcs  Debats,  from  the  pen 
ol  M.  Prevost-Paradol,  its  principal  leader-writer,  and  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
distinguished  of  the  Parisian  litttrateiirs ;  though  a  Romanist,  he  wrote  in  this 
appreciative  strain  of  Mr.  Spurgeon  and  his  services  : — 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  fulfilled  his  promise.  The  indefatigable  apostle  has  spent 
three  days  among  us,  and  during  his  visit  he  preached  five  times  without  our  being- 
able  to  detect  the  slightest  weariness  in  this  gifted  man.  Yet  we  do  not  think  that 
any  other  orator  could  put  more  emphasis  into  his  words,  or  give  himself  up  more 
completely  to  his  audience.  Without  posing,  or  getting  too  much  excited,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  animates  his  discourse  from  beginning  to  end.  The  subject  of  his  sermon 
is  generally  commonplace,  and  the  end  of  it  can  be  foreseen  ;  but  what  is  neither 
commonplace  nor  foreseen,  and  which  is  incomprehensible  without  hearing  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  is  the  persuasive,  familiar,  and  yet  forcible  way  in  which  he  compels  his 
audience  to  follow  him,  without  fatigue,  through  the  long  continuous  recitals,  full  of 
vivid   pictures,    exhortations,    timely   warnings   or   entreaties,    with  which   he,  by  so 


350  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

much  art,  makes  up  the  rich  and  soHd  groundwork  of  his  discourses.  But  why  speak 
of  art,  when  gifts  are  in  question,  or  rather,  we  would  say,  the  most  inspired  oratory 
we  have  ever  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  ?  Never  has  a  sermon  been  preached  with 
less  apparent  preparation,  or  given  to  the  hearer  the  idea  of  a  studied  discourse  ;  yet 
where  is  the  audience  that  has  noticed  the  least  weakness,  or  the  slightest  hesitation, 
in  his  flowing  and  simple  eloquence  ?  One  listens  with  pleasure  to  his  powerful  and 
sympathetic  voice,  which  never  rises  or  falls  beyond  proper  limits,  and  yet  fills  the 
whole  church  with  its  sweet  cadences. 

"  The  man  who  possesses  these  gifts,  and  uses  them  so  generously,  is  not  yet 
twenty-six  years  of  age.  It  is  impossible  to  look  upon  his  energetic  and  loyal  iace 
without  reading  there  conviction,  courage,  and  earnest  desire  to  do  the  right.  This 
orator,  who  is  the  most  popular  preacher  in  a  country  where  liberty  of  speech  and 
conscience  exercises  such  potent  influence,  is  not  only  the  most  modest,  but  also  the 
most  simple  of  men.  It  is  true  that  h-e  has  the  happiness  to  address  a  nation  which 
does  not  think  it  necessary  to  be  unjust  in  its  public  criticism  ;  but,  alter  all,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  owes  to  himself  alone  the  great  and  salutary  influence  which  he  has 
acquired,  and  yet  no  one  could  ever  rightly  accuse  him  of  egotism.  It  is  without 
affectation  that  he,  unreservedly,  ascribes  all  the  glory  to  God.  It  seems  to  us 
that  all  disputes  concerning  religion  ought  to  vanish  before  such  an  apostle ; 
and  to  recognize  his  power,  is  but  just.  As  for  us,  who  have  seen  in  this 
youthful  and  eloquent  preacher  one  of  the  most  happy  examples  of  what  modern 
Christianity  and  liberty  can  produce,  we  feel  that  it  is  an  honour  to  come  into 
contact  with  such  a  man  as  Air.  Spurgeon,  and  to  exchange  with  him  the  grasp 
of  friendship." 

Mrs.  Spurgeon  had  the  great  joy  of  accompanying  her  dear  husband  on  this  visit. 
Deacon  James  Low,  who  was  another  of  his  Pastor's  companions  on  this  occasion., 
gave  the  following  account  of  an  extra  service  of  considerable  interest : — "  By  special 
invitation,  Mr.  Spurgeon  visited  the  College  at  Passy,  where  there  were  several 
young  men  of  great  promise  being  educated  for  the  mission  held.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
received  the  students  with  much  heartiness,  and  gave  them  a  very  touching  and 
interesting  address  on  the  importance  and  duties  of  missionary  work,  especially 
urging  them  to  preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  as  that  doctrine  would  influence 
their  hearers'  hearts  more  than  any  other  theme.  The  President  translated  the 
address  into  French,  and  the  students  appeared  very  grateful  for  the  visit. 

"  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  very  much  pressed  by  the  various  mijiisters  and  others 
to  preach  again  in  Paris  as  soon  as  possible.  The  results  of  the  services  were 
altogether  most  gratifying.  To  show  the  kindly  feeling  of  the  friends,  collections 
were  made,   at  the  American   Chapel,  amounting   to  ^64,   towards  the  Tabernacle 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  35 1 

Building  Fund.  Two  collections  were  also  made  at  the  Oratoire  for  the  poor  of 
Paris  ;  they  realized  ^40." 

Mr.  Blood  wrote  : — "  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that,  not  only  in  Paris  was  there  a 
great  wish  to  hear  Mr.  Spurgeon,  but  the  same  desire  existed  in  different  parts  of 
France,  in  consequence  of  the  articles  which  had  been  disseminated  by  the  press. 
Several  came  hundreds  of  miles  to  attend  the  services  ;  and  amongst  others,  the 
ministers  of  Marseilles  and  Lyons.  x\fter  the  last  service  at  the  Oratoire,  Mr. 
Spurgeon  was  invited  to  meet  the  Consistoire  at  the  house  of  the  Pastors.  There 
was  a  great  number  of  Christian  friends  present  ;  in  fact,  the  salons  were  crowded. 
Hymns  of  joy  and  praise  were  heartily  sung,  and  fervent  prayers  were  offered  that 
God  might  bless  the  seed  which  had  been  sown,  and  cause  it  to  take  deep  root  in 
many  a  heart.  Mr.  Spurgeon  was  cordially  thanked  for  his  kind  help  to  the  Church 
in  France,  and  he  gave  a  brief  farewell  address.  It  was  indeed  a  sweet  and  solemn 
time, — a  little  Pentecostal  season,  not  soon  to  be  forgotten.  This  service  was  entirely 
in  French." 

On  his  return  home,  Mr.  Spurgeon  wrote  a  loving  letter  of  hearty  greeting  and 
thanks,  from  which  the  following"  extract  may  appropriately  complete  the  records  of 
that  very  memorable  visit  to  Paris  : — 

"  Mon  Eglise  a  oftert  au  Seigneur  ses  plus  instantes  supplications  pour  la 
prosperite  et  I'extension  de  I'Eglise  de  Christ  en  France.  Nous  vous  porterons 
desormais  sur  nos  cceurs,  et  nous  esperons  occuper  aussi  une  place  dans  vos  prieres 
journalieres  ....  Puis-je  repondre  toujours  aux  temoignages  d'estime  que  vous 
avez  bien  voulu  m'accorder  !  Je  m'incline  jusqu'a  terre  sous  le  poids  des 
misericordes  dont  le  Seigneur  a  daigne  me  favoriser,  et  les  marques  d'affection 
que  me  donnent  Ses  enfants  penetrent  mon  coeur  de  gratitude." 

This  chapter  may  fitly  be  closed  with  a  brief  reference  to  the  week-day  services 
at  the  Tabernacle,  Moorfields,  which  were  among  the  fixed  engagements  of  each 
year.  Dr.  John  Campbell,  who  had  long  stood  forth  as  the  friend  and  advocate  of 
the  young  Pastor,  thus  spoke  of  this  annual  visit  : — "  Every  365  days,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
and  his  dear  companion  and  the  two  litde  Princes  Imperial  honour  my  family  with 
their  presence  for  a  whole  day.  We  count  on  it  ;  it  is  a  high  day  with  us.  By  two 
sermons,  on  that  occasion,  Mr.  Spurgeon  almost  entirely  supports  our  City  Mission 
at  the  Tabernacle."  In  the  reminiscences,  of  which  mention  is  made  on  page  82, 
Mr.  Spurgeon  referred  to  this  happy  compact  in  the  following  terms  : — "  It  was 
always  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  have  been  associated  with  good  old  Dr.  Campbell, 
the  Editor  of  The  British  Banner.  He  was  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine.  I  used 
to  preach  for  him  every  year,  and  it  was  understood  that,  when  I  went,  I  must  take 
my  dear  wife  and  our  two  little  boys  with  me.     The  day  before  we  were  to  go,  that 


352   .  c.    H.    spurgeon's    autobiography. 

great  stern  strong  man,  who  had  no  mercy  upon  heretics,  but  would  beat  them 
black  and  blue, — I  mean  in  a  literary  sense,  not  literally, — used  to  visit  a  toy-shop, 
and  buy  horses  and  carts  or  other  playthings  for  the  children.  One  time,  when  he 
sent  the  invitation  for  us  all  to  go  to  his  house,  he  wrote  : — '  Our  cat  has  had  some 
kittens  on  purpose  that  the  boys  may  have  something  fresh  to  play  with.'  It  showed 
what  a  kind  heart  the  old  man  had  when  he  took  such  pains  to  give  pleasure  to  the 
little  ones." 

One  of  the  most  memorable  of  these  annual  visits  was  paid  on  Wednesday, 
March  14,  i860.  There  had  been,  near  that  time,  a  great  many  serious  accidents 
and  notable  sudden  deaths.  A  mill  in  America  had  fallen,  and  buried  hundreds  of 
persons  in  the  ruins.  A  train  had  left  the  rails,  and  great  numbers  ot  the  passengers 
were  in  consequence  killed.  The  captain  of  the  largest  vessel  then  afloat,  who  had 
been  brought  safely  through  many  a  storm,  had  just  said  farewell  to  his  family  when 
he  fell  into  the  water,  and  was  drowned.  A  judge,  after  delivering  his  charge  to 
the  grand  jury  with  his  usual  wisdom,  calmness,  and  deliberation,  paused,  fell  back, 
and  was  carried  away  lifeless.  Mr.  Corderoy,  a  well-known  generous  Christian 
gentleman,  was  suddenly  called  away,  leaving  a  whole  denomination  mourning  for 
him.  Mr.  Spurgeon's  sermon — "  Memento  Mori  " — at  Exeter  Hall,  the  following 
Lord's-day  morning,  contained  a  reference  to  these  occurrences,  and  also  to  another 
which  more  directly  affected  Dr.  Campbell.  Preaching  from  the  words,  "  O  that 
they  were  wise,  that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end!" 
Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — 

"  It  was  but  last  Wednesday  that  I  sat  in  the  house  of  that  mighty  servant 
of  God,  that  great  defender  of  the  faith,  the  Luther  of  his  age, — Dr.  Campbell  ;  we 
were  talking  then  about  these  sudden  deaths,  little  thinking  that  the  like  calamity 
would  invade  his  very  family  ;  but,  alas  !  we  observed,  in  the  next  day's  paper,  that 
his  second  son  had  been  swept  overboard  while  returning  from  one  of  his  voyages  to 
America.  A  bold  brave  youth  has  found  a  liquid  grave.  So  that  here,  there, 
everywhere,  O  Death  !  I  see  thy  doings.  At  home,  abroad,  on  the  sea,  and  across 
the  sea,  thou  art  at  work.  O  thou  mower  !  how  long  ere  thy  scythe  shall  be  quiet  ? 
O  thou  destroyer  of  men,  wilt  thou  never  rest,  wilt  thou  ne'er  be  still  ?  O  Death  ! 
must  thy  Juggernaut-car  go  crashing  on  for  ever,  and  must  the  skulls  and  blood 
of  human  beings  continue  to  mark  thy  track  ?  Yes,  it  must  be  so  till  He  comes 
who  is  the  King  of  life  and  immortality  ;  then  the  saints  shall  die  no  more,  but  be  as 
the  ang-els  of  God." 


CHAPTER    LIX. 


Jltttius  in  tljc  QEnfiuisljcti  ^cifaentaclc. 

I  hope  I  shall  never,  while  I  live,  cease  to  have  another  project  always  in  hand.  When  one  thing 
is  done,  we  will  do  something  else.  If  we  have  tried  to  make  ministers  more  diligent  in  preaching,  we 
must  try  to  make  the  churches  more  earnest  in  praying.  When  we  have  built  our  new  chapel,  we  must 
build  something  else ;  we  must  always  have  something  in  hand.  If  I  have  preached  the  gospel  in 
England,  it  must  be  my  privilege  to  preach  it  beyond  the  sea  ;  and  when  I  have  preached  it  there,  I 
must  solicit  longer  leave  of  absence  that  I  may  preach  it  in  other  countries,  and  act  as  a  missionary 
throughout  the  nations. — C.  H.  S.,  in  sermon  at  the  Music  Hall,  Royal  Surrey  Gardens,  January  2,  1859. 

At  a  church-meeting,  held  in  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  August  6,  1S60,  the  following  resolution 
was  carried  unanimously  and  enthusiastically : — 

"We  hereby  record  our  sincere  thankfulness  to  Almighty  God  for  the  gracious  providence  which 
has  preserved  our  Pastor  in  foreign  lands,  and  for  the  lovingkindness  which  has  blest  his  travels  to  the 
restoration  of  his  health.  It  is  our  earnest  prayer  that,  for  many  years  to  come,  our  beloved  Pastor  may 
be  spared  to  labour  among  us  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  and  with  the  smile  of  our  Heavenly  Father.  It 
is  no  small  joy  to  us  to  hear  of  the  great  acceptance  which  the  printed  sermons  of  our  dear  Pastor  have 
met  with  in  France,  Switzerland,  Germany,  Holland,  Sweden,  and  the  United  States,  and  we  equally 
rejoice  tliat  his  personal  presence  among  foreign  churches  has  been  attended  with  Divine  blessing. 
Specially  are  we  glad  that  our  Pastor  has  been  honoured  to  occupy  the  pulpit  of  John  Calvin  in  the 
venerable  city  of  Geneva,  and  we  devoutly  pray  that  on  that  city  the  love  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
may  ever  rest,  and  that  all  her  ancient  glory  may  be  restored.  Unto  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be 
glory  for  the  gracious  success  which  has  been  with  us  even  unto  this  day,  and  may  it  please  our 
Covenant  God  to  remember  us  for  good  even  unto  the  end ! '' 

^llHE  first  meeting  in  the  Tabernacle  was  held  on  Tuesday  afternoon, 
August  21,  i860,  while  the  building  was  still  unfinished.  The 
object  of  the  gathering  was  twofold  ; — first,  to  give  thanks  to  God 
for  the  success  which  had  thus  far  attended  the  enterprise  ;  and, 
next,  to  raise  as  much  as  possible  of  the  amount  required  to  open 
the  sanctuary  free  from  debt.  ^22,196  19s.  8d.  had  been  received 
up  to  that  time,  but  more  than  ^8,000  was  still  needed.  Apsley  Pellatt,  Esq., 
presided,  and  heartily  congratulated  the  congregation  upon  being  present  in  the 
largest  place  of  worship  in  Great  Britain  for  the  use  of  Nonconformist  Christians. 
Several  representative  speakers  delivered  interesting  and  sympathetic  addresses,  and 
Mr.  Spurgeon  gave  a  detailed  description  of  the  main  building  in  which  the  meeting 
was  being  held,  and  of  the  smaller  rooms  connected  with  it.  After  a  few  intro- 
ductory sentences  referring  to  his  ministerial  brethren  who  were  about  to  speak,  the 
Pastor  said  : — 

"  Now,  my  dear  friends,  you  may  perhaps  guess  the  joy  with  which  I  stand 
before  you  to-day,  but  no  man  but  myself  can  fathom  its  fulness,  and  I  myself  am 
quite  unable  to  utter  it.     '  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul :  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless 


354  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

His  holy  Name.'  Much  as  I  wish  to  express  my  gratitude,  I  must  go  at  once  to  my 
business,  and  first  say  a  few  words  about  the  structure  itself.  If  the  floor  were  to 
give  way,  our  brethren,  who  are  now  upon  the  platform,  would  find  themselves  in 
the  baptistery  ;  and  if,  at  any  time,  those  of  them  who  have  never  been  baptized 
wish  to  be  immersed  in  obedience  to  their  Master's  command,  they  will  always  find 
a  willing  servant  in  me.  The  baptistery  will  be  usually  uncovered,  as  we  are  not 
ashamed  to  confess  our  belief  in  believers'  baptism. 


THE   BAPTISTERY   AND    PLATKOKM,    METROPOLITAN    TABERNACLE. 

"  On  the  occasion  of  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  supper,  the  table  will  also 
stand  here  ;  and  there  are  steps  on  each  side  at  the  back  of  the  platform  by  which 
the  deacons  will  descend  to  distribute  the  memorials  of  the  Saviour's  death.  You 
see,  above  us,  the  pulpit,  or  platform,  which  might  hold  a  large  number  of  persons. 
I  cannot  stand  like  a  statue  when   I   preach  ;   I  prefer  a  wide  range  both  of  thought 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGKAI'IIV.  355 

and  action.  The  pulpit  will  also  be  convenient  for  public  meetings,  so  that  there 
will  be  no  expense  for  erecting  piatforms.  Concerning  this  vast  chapel,  I  believe  it 
is  the  most  perfect  triumph  of  acoustics  that  has  ever  been  achieved.  If  it  had  been 
a  failure  at  present,  I  should  not  have  been  at  all  disappointed,  because  the  walls 
have  yet  to  be  covered  with  matched  boarding,  so  that  not  a  particle  of  brickwork  is 
to  be  exposed, — it  being  my  theory  that  soft  substances  are  very  much  the  best  for 
hearing,  having  proved  in  a  great  number  of  buildings  that  stone  walls  are  the  main 
creators  of  an  echo,  and  having  seen  hangings  put  up  to  break  the  reverberation, 
and  to  give  the  speaker  a  hope  of  being  heard. 


INIERIOR   OF   THE    MEIKOPOLITAN   TABERNACLE,    VIEWED    KKUM    IHE   AREA. 


"  It   has  been   remarked   by   a   great   many   friends,   as   they   entered,    that   the 
building  was  not  so  large  as  they  expected  ;  and  I  was  pleased  to  hear  them  say  so. 


356  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

for  it  showed  me  that  the  structure  did  not  appear  huge  and  unsightly.  To  look 
very  large,  a  building  must  be  generally  out  of  proportion,  for  when  there  is  pro- 
portion, the  idea  of  size  is  often  lost.  If  you  went  down  below,  you  would  find  the 
lecture-hall,  about  the  same  area  as  New  Park  Street  Chapel,  or  rather  larger  ; 
and  the  school-room,  larger  in  its  area  than  the  venerable  sanctuary  in  which  my 
brother,  Dr.  Campbell,  long  preached  the  word, — I  mean,  the  Tabernacle,  Moor- 
fields.  I  believe  that  four  chapels  like  the  one  at  Moorfields  could  be  put  into  this 
building  ;  two  resting  on  the  basement  would  only  just  fill  up  the  same  area,  and  then 
there  would  be  room  for  two  more  on  the  top  of  them.  Now,  perhaps,  you  may 
get  some  idea  of  the  size  of  the  Tabernacle. 

"  With  regard  to  the  appearance  of  the  structure,  I  have  this  much  to  say  ;  I 
think  it  is  highly  creditable  to  the  architect.  The  omission  of  the  towers  (see  illustra- 
tion on  page  320,)  has  deprived  him  of  much  of  the  effect  which  he  hoped  to  produce 
by  his  design,  and  is  perhaps  the  reason  why  the  roof  seems  to  rise  too  much,  but  they 
will  never  be  erected  as  long  as  I  am  here.  I  will  have  no  ornament  which  has  not  a 
practical  use,  and  1  do  not  think  those  towers  could  have  had  any  object  except 
mere  show.  As  for  the  front  elevation,  it  is  not  surpassed  by  anything  in  London. 
The  building  has  no  e.xtravagance  about  it,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  it  has  no  mean- 
ness. True,  the  roof  rises  to  a  very  great  height  above  the  portico,  and  does  not 
present  a  very  architectural  appearance  from  the  Causeway,  but  we  must  recollect 
this, — those  who  only  look  at  the  Tabernacle  from  the  outside  have  not  subscribed 
anything  towards  its  erection,  and  therefore  cannot  judge  of  its  true  beauty. 

"  The  lecture-hall,  beneath  this  platform,  is  for  our  church-meetings  ;  it  is 
rendered  fully  necessary,  as  we  have  now  more  than  1,500  members.  The  school- 
room will  contain,  I  should  think,  1,500  if  not  2,000  children.  There  are  large 
class-rooms  which  will  be  used  on  the  Sabbath-day  for  classes,  and  on  the  week-days 
for  my  students.  1  have  no  doubt  my  friend,  Mr.  Rogers,  who  has  so  long  been  my 
excellent  helper  in  that  work, — and  to  whom  very  much  credit  is  due, — will  feel 
himself  more  comfortable  when  he  has  proper  rooms  in  which  all  his  young  men  can 
be  taught  in  every  branch  necessary  to  give  them  a  complete  education  for  the 
ministry.  There  is  a  very  fine  room  for  the  ladies'  working  meetings,  which  will  also 
be  available  for  a  library, — a  place  where  the  works  of  all  our  former  Pastors  will  be 
collected  and  preserved,  for  you  must  know  that,  of  old,  our  church  has  ever  been 
prolific  of  good  works,  in  both  senses  ol  that  term.  We  have  the  almost 
innumerable  works  of  Keach, — they  were  so  many  that  it  was  difficult  to  find  them 
all.  The  chap-books,  which  used  to  be  hawked  about  the  country, — printed  from 
worn  type  on  bad  brown  paper,  and  adorned  with  quaint  illustrations,  yet  containing 
good,  sound  theology, — I  have  no  doubt  interested  the  villagers,  and  greatly 
impressed  the  public  mind  at  the  time.      Then  we  have  the  ponderous  tomes  of  Gill, 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


357 


the  tractates  and  hymns  of  Rippon,  and  the  works  of  those  who,  since  their  day, 
have  served  us  in  the  Lord.  The  pulpit  of  my  glorious  predecessor.  Dr.  Gill,  will 
be  brought  here,  and  placed  in  the  vestry  below,  that  we  may  retain  our  ancient 
pedigree.  It  is  said  to  have  had  a  new  bottom,  and  some  of  the  four  sides  are  new, 
yet  I  affirm  it  to  be  Dr.  Gill's  pulpit.  I  am  as  certain  that  it  is  so,  as  that  I  am  the 
same  man  as  I  was  seven  years  ago,  though  all  the  component  parts  of  my  body  may 
have  been  chany'ed  in  the  meantime. 


THE    PASTOR  S  VESTRY. 


"  Behind  the  upper  platform,  there  are  three  spacious  rooms  ;  in  the  centre, 
IS  the  minister's  vestry  ;  to  the  right  and  left,  are  the  rooms  of  the  deacons  and 
elders,— the  officers  of  the  army  on  either  side  of  the  captain,  so  that  they  may  be 
ready  to  go  forward  at  the  word  of  command.  Then  above  them,  on  the  third  story, 
there  are  three  other  excellent  rooms,  to  be  used  for  tract  and  Bible  depositories, 
and  for  other  schemes  which  we  hope  the  church  will  undertake. 

"  I  have  thus  tried  to  explain  the  structure  of  the  building  to  you  ;  I  do  not 
think  that  anything  else  remains  to  be  said  about  it,  except  I  draw  your  attention 
to  the  staircases  by  which  you  ascend  to  the  galleries,  each  gallery  having  a  distinct 


358 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPllV. 


entrance  and  staircase,  so  that  there  is  no  fear  ot  any  overcrowding.  I  will  only 
say  that  a  design  was  never  carried  out  with  more  fidelity  by  any  builder  than 
this  has  been.  There  have  been  improvements  made  as  vve  have  gone  on,  but  they 
alwavs  have  been  improvements,  to  which,  if  they  did  not  seem  absolutely  necessary, 
the  builder  has  objected,  lest  he  should  have  any  extras  ;  and  when  we  have  com- 
pelled him  to  make  them,  he  has  done  them  as  cheaply  as  possible.  He  is  a  man  of 
whom  I  am  proud  that  he  is  at  once  a  member  of  the  church,  a  member  of  the 
Buildino-   Committee,   and   the   builder   of  th  s   house   of  God. 


THE    DEACONS     R0051, 


being  a  most  generous  donor,  gives  us  in  solid  brick  and  stone  far  more  than  he  has 
done  in  cash.  If  I  had  ten  thousand  buildings  to  erect,  I  would  never  look  to 
anybody  else  ;   I  would  stick  to  my  first  love,  for  he  has  been  faithful  and  true. 

'■  I  must  pass  on  to  another  point,  namely,  the  present  position  of  this  project. 
We  have  pushed  beyond  the  era  of  objection  to  it.  Now,  those  very  wise  friends 
(and  they  were  very  wise)  who  said  the  building  ought  not  to  be  built,  it  would  be 
too  big,  cannot  undo  it ;  the  only  thing  they  can  do  is  to  help  us  through  with  it,  for 
so  much   money  has  been  spent  already  that  we  cannot  propose  to  pull    it  down, 


II.     SI'URGEONS     AUTOBIOGRAPHV. 


559 


ho\ve\er  absurd  the  structure  may  be.  Some  ot  our  brethren  ha\e  asked,  '  When 
Mr.  Spurgeon  dies,  who  will  take  his  place.'"' — as  it  God  could  not  raise  up 
servants  when  He  would,  or  as  if  we  ought  to  neglect  our  present  duty,  because 
of  something  which  may  happen  in  fifty  years'  time.  You  say,  perhaps,  '  You  give 
yourself  a  long  lease, — fifty  years.'  I  don't  know  why  I  should  not  have  it;  it  may 
come  to  pass,  and  will,  if  the  Lord  has  so  ordained.  Dr.  Gill  was  chosen  Pastor 
gf  this  church  when  he  was  twenty-two,  and  he  was  more  than  fifty  years  its 
minister ;    Dr.   Rippon   was   chosen    at    the    age  of   twenty,   and  he  was   Pastor  for 


si.xty-three  years  ;  I  was  nineteen  when  I  was  invited  ;  and  is  it  not  possible  that 
I  also,  by  Divine  grace,  may  serve  my  generation  for  a  long  period  of  time  ? 
At  any  rate,  when  I  am  proposing  to  commence  a  plan,  I  never  think  about  whether 
I  shall  live  to  see  it  finished,  for  I  am  certain  that,  if  it  is  God's  plan.  He  will 
surely  finish  it,   even  if  I  should  have  to  leave  the  work  undone. 

"  I  said,  just  now,  that  this  project  has  gone  beyond  the  era  of  objections  ; 
it  has  even  passed  beyond  the  realm  of  difficulties.  We  have  had  many  difficulties, 
but  far  more  providences.      The  ground  was  as  nvich  given  to  us  by  God  as  if  He 


360  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

had  sent  an  angel  to  clear  it  for  us.  The  money,  too,  has  been  given,  even  beyond 
our  hopes,  and  we  have  had  it  from  quarters  where  we  should  least  have  expected 
it.  All  the  Christian  churches  have  contributed  their  portion,  and  almost  all  the 
ends  of  the  earth  have  sent  their  offerings.  From  India,  Australia,  America,  and 
everywhere,  have  we  received  something  from  God's  people  to  help  us  in  this 
work.  We  hope  now  we  shall  go  on  even  to  the  end  of  it  without  feeling  any 
diminution  of  our  joy. 

"  Now  I  come  to  my  closing  remark,  which  is,  that  zve  earnestly  desire  to  open 
this  place  luithont  a  farthing  of  debt  upon  it.  You  have  heard  that  sentence  again 
and  again.  Let  me  repeat  it  ;  and  I  pray  that  our  brethren  here,  who  have  the 
command  of  the  public  press,  will  repeat  it  again  and  again  for  me.  It  is  not  because 
a  small  debt  would  weigh  upon  this  church  too  much  ;  we  are  not  afraid  of  that  ; 
it  is  just  this,  we  think  it  will  tell  well  for  the  whole  body  of  believers .  who  rely 
upon  the  voluntary  principle  if  this  Tabernacle  is  completed  without  a  loan  or  a  debt. 
Our  new  place  of  worship  has  been  spoken  of  in  the  House  of  Commons,  it  has  been 
mentioned  in  the  House  of  Lords  ;  and  as  everybody  happens  to  know  of  it,  since 
it  stands  so  conspicuously,  we  want  to  do  our  utmost,  and  we  ask  our  brethren  to  give 
us  their  help,  that  this  forefront  of  Nonconformity,  for  the  time  being-,  may  have  about 
it  no  failure,  no  defeat  to  which  anyone  can  point,  and  say,  '  Your  voluntaryism 
failed  to  carry  the  project  through.'  I  believe  in  the  might  of  the  voluntary  principle. 
I  believe  it  to  be  perfectly  irresistible  in  proportion  to  the  power  of  God's  Spirit 
in  the  hearts  of  those  who  exercise  it.  When  the  Spirit  of  God  is  absent,  and 
the  Church  is  at  a  low  ebb,  the  voluntary  principle  has  little  or  no  power  ;  and  then 
it  becomes  a  question,  with  many  carnal  wise  men,  whether  they  shall  not  look  to 
Egypt  for  help,  and  stay  themselves  on  horses.  But,  when  the  Spirit  of  God  is  shed 
abroad,  and  men's  hearts  are  in  the  right  state,  we  find  the  voluntary  principle  equal 
to  every  need  of  the  Church.  Whenever  I  see  members  of  any  denomination  turn 
aside,  and  begin  to  take  so  much  as  a  single  halfpenny  from  the  hand  of  the  State,  I 
think  they  do  not  believe  in  their  God  as  they  ought,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
not  with  them  in  all  His  Divine  power.  Only  give  us  a  minister  preaching  Christ, 
and  a  people  who  will  serve  their  God,  and  feel  it  to  be  their  pleasure  to  devote 
themselves  and  their  substance  to  His  cause,  and  nothing  is  impossible. 

"  I  ask  you  to  prove  this  to  all  men  ;  and  I  appeal  to  you  to  help  us  in  the 
effort  to  raise  that  remnant  of  ^8,000.  I  believe  we  shall  have  a  good  and  hearty 
response,  and  that,  on  the  day  of  opening,  we  shall  see  this  place  filled  with  a  vast 
multitude  who  will  complete  the  work,  and  leave  not  a  shilling  unpaid.  We  pledge 
ourselves  to  the  Christian  public  that  they  shall  be  no  losers  by  us.  While  this 
building  has  been  going  on,  we  have  done  as  much  as  any  church  for  all  other 
agencies, — as  much  as  it  was  possible  tor  us  to  do.      We  hope  to  h-elp  other  places, 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  361 

by  first  giving  to  our  young  men  an  education  wlien  God  has  called  them  to  the 
ministry,  and  afterwards  helping  them  when  they  are  settled.  We  wish  our  church 
to  become  a  fruitful  mother  of  children,  and  pray  that  God  may  make  this 
Tabernacle  a  centre,  from  which  rays  of  truth,  and  light,  and  glory,  may  radiate 
to  dispel  the  darkness  of  the  land.  We  will  not  be  an  idle  church  ;  we  do 
not  ask  to  have  our  load  taken  away,  that  we  may  eat,  and  drink,  and  play, 
but  only  that  we  may  go  straight  on  to  do  God's  work.  Of  all  things,  I  do  abhor  a 
debt.  I  shall  feel  like  a  guilty  sneaking  sinner  if  I  come  here  with  even  a  hundred 
pounds  debt  upon  the  building.  '  Owe  no  man  anything,'  will  stare  me  in  the  face 
whenever  I  try  to  address  you.  I  do  not  believe  that  Scripture  warrants  any  man  in 
getting  into  debt.  It  may  stimulate  the  people  to  raise  more  money  ;  but,  after  all, 
attention  to  the  simple  Word  of  God  is  infinitely  better  than  looking  at  the  end  which 
may  be  attained  by  the  slightest  deviation  from  it.  Let  us  not  owe  a  farthing  to  any 
living  soul  ;  and  when  we  come  here  for  the  opening  services,  let  us  find  that 
all  has  been  paid." 

In  the  course  of  the  meeting,  Mr.  .Spurgeon  made  other  interesting  remarks. 
After  the  address  of  the  clergyman  who  had  accepted  his  invitation  to  be  present,  and 
who  had  spoken  with  great  heartiness  of  the  Pastor  and  his  work,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  : — 

"  I  thank  my  brother,  the  Rev.  Hugh  Allen,  ior  coming  here  to-day.  I  know 
the  opposition  he  has  met  with,  and  I  believe  he  cares  about  as  much  for  it  as  a  bull 
does  when  a  gnat  settles  on  his  horn.  He  shall  have  my  pulpit  at  any  time  he 
likes, — I  am  quite  sure  he  will  commit  no  offence  by  preaching  in  it.  I  licensed 
Exeter  Hall  as  a  place  of  Dissenting  worship,  a  few  years  ago,  and  the  record  stands 
on  the  book  yet.  If  it  is  a  sin  for  a  clergyman  to  preach  in  a  licensed  place, 
there  are  one  hundred  clergymen  who  are  great  sinners,  for  about  that  number  have 
since  preached  there." 

Dr.  Campbell  having  made  some  allusion  to  the  name  of  the  building, 
Mr.  Spurgeon  first  stated  that  more  than  a  million  persons  had  contributed,  chiefly 
in  small  sums,  towards  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  then  said  : — "  I 
am  astonished  at  Dr.  Campbell  for  not  knowing  that  the  word  Tabernacle 
involves  a  religious  doctrine,  namely,  that  we  have  not  come  to  the  Temple- 
state  here,  we  are  now  passing  through  the  Tabernacle-state.  We  believe  this 
building  to  be  temporary,  and  only  meant  for  the  time  that  we  are  in  the  wilderness 
without  a  visible  King.  Our  prayer  is,  '  Thy  Kingdom  come.'  We  do  firmly 
believe  in  the  real  and  personal  reign  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ior  which  we 
devoutly  wait.  That  is  the  reason  why  our  new  house  of  prayer  is  called  a 
Tabernacle,  not  a  Temple.  We  have  not  here  the  King  in  person,  the  Divine 
Solomon  ;   till    He   come,   we  call   it  a  Tabernacle   still.      Dr.   Campbell  and    I    will 


362  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

never  quarrel  for  any  precedence ;  his  is  a  most  mighty  pen,  he  may  have  the 
kingdom  of  the  pen  if  he  will  let  me  keep  some  part  of  the  kingdom  of  the  tongue. 
His  pen  is  sharper  and  mightier  than  Ithuriel's  spear;  it  has  detected  many  of  the 
toads  of  heresy,  and  transformed  them  to  their  right  shape,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it 
will  find  out  a  great  many  more  yet." 

Mr.  Spurgeon  gave,  at  this  meeting,  a  detailed  and  cheering  account  of  the 
Continental  tour  which  he  had  recently  enjoyed,  with  Mrs.  Spurgeon,  Mr.  Passmore, 
and  another  friend.  The  address  was  printed,  shortly  afterwards  ;  but  it  contains 
so  much  interesting  autobiographical  information  relating  to  the  period,  that  at 
least  a  part  of  it  must  find  a  place  here,  to  make  the  record  as  complete  as 
possible.     The  Pastor  said  : — 

"  I  have  been  requested  by  two  well-known  and  deser\-edl)-  eminent  publishers 
to  print  some  notes  of  my  journey  on  the  Continent  ;  but  I  went  there  for  rest  and 
recreation,  and  I  felt  that  this  most  sacred  purpose  could  not  be  attained  if  I  chained 
myself  to  the  drudgery  of  book-writing.  My  congregation  would  have  been 
disappointed  if  I  had  come  home  as  tired  as  I  went,  and  I  could  have  had  no  solid 
excuse  for  ceasing  my  daily  preaching  if  I  had  not  really  rested  my  weary  brain.  I 
believe,  moreover,  that  the  narrative  of  my  journey  will  be  far  more  valuable  to  me 
as  a  fountain  of  fresh  illustrations  and  suggestions,  than  if  I  could  pour  it  all  out  into 
a  book.  Will  it  not  be  better  to  retain  my  pearl,  and  let  it  glitter  every  now  and  then, 
than  to  melt  it  into  one  small  draught,  too  shallow  to  satisfy  the  public  thirst  ? 

"  I  went  from  St.  Katherine's  Docks  down  the  river,  accompanied  by  my 
well-beloved  deacons  and  several  of  my  friends.  At  Gravesend,  they  left  me  and 
my  party,  with  the  kindest  wishes,  and  with  many  a  prayer  to  God  for  our  safety. 
1  he  journey  was  rendered  abundantly  pleasant  by  the  evening  which  we  spent 
together  in  prayer  and  fellowship  before  our  departure.  I  never  heard  such  kind 
words  and  such  loving  prayers  uttered,  concerning  any  human  being,  as  I  heard  that 
night  concerning  myself  There  was  nothing  like  fulsome  flattery,  all  the  glory  was 
given  to  God  ;  but  every  brother  invoked  such  choice  blessings  upon  my  head  that 
I  went  away  with  a  rich  cargo  of  joy,  knowing  that  a  full  wind  of  prayer  was 
following  behind. 

"The  captain  of  our.  vessel  was  from  Essex,  and  as  all  Essex  men  have  a 
high  opinion  of  their  countrymen,  we  soon  found  ourselves  in  full  talk  upon  the 
excellences  of  our  native  county.  Many  were  our  anecdotes,  and  swifdy  flew  the 
time.  Mine  I  have  told  so  many  times,  I  daresay  you  know  them.  Some  of  the 
captain's  tales  were  new  and  original.  I  shall  give  you  one,  because  it  tends  to 
illustrate  the  place  in  which  we  landed, — Antwerp.  That  city  is  so  full  of  images 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  that  you  cannot  turn  the  corner  of  a  street  without  seeing  them  ; 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiogkai'mv.  .  363 

— sometimes  under  a  canopy  of  many  colours,  arrayed  in  all  manner  of  imitation 
jewellery,  and  at  other  times  in  neat  little  niches  which  seem  to  have  been  picked 
out  of  the  wall  for  their  special  accommodation  ;  sometimes  Mary  is  represented  by 
an  ugly  black  doll,  and  at  other  times  by  a  decent  respectable  statue.  So  many  of 
these  objects  are  there,  that  the  sailors  may  be  excused  for  imag-ining  every  image 
which  they  see  to  be  a  Virgin  Mary.  One  of  them,  who  landed  there,  went  to  buy 
some  tobacco  ;  and  when  he  returned  to  the  ship,  his  companions  said,  '  That  is  very 
good  tobacco,  Jack  ;  where  did  you  get  it  ? '  '  Oh  !  '  he  answered,  '  you  will  know 
the  shop,  for  there  is  a  Virgin  Mary  sitting  over  the  door,  smoking  a  pipe.'  I  don't 
wonder  at  the  man's  blunder,  for,  among  so  many  idols,  one  may  easily  mistake 
a  Turk  and  his  turban  for  the  Virgin  and  her  crown.  I  am  sure  they  think  vastly 
more  of  her  than  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  for,  though  we  saw  many  crucifixes,  and 
many  representations  of  the  Saviour,  yet  even  in  their  image-work  it  seemed  to  me 
that  the  Virgin  Mary  was  cent  per  cent  beyond  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  It  happened,  the  very  day  we  landed  at  Antwerp,  that  there  was  a  grand 
procession  just  streaming  in  its  full  glory  out  of  the  cathedral,  a  fine  and  venerable 
building.  There  were  priests  in  their  robes,  beadles  resplendent  in  their  livery, 
and  a  great  number  of  men,  whom  I  supposed  to  be  penitents,  carrying  huge 
candles,  certainly  I  should  think  two  inches  in  diameter.  These  men  walked 
two-and-two  along  the  streets.  Whether  that  burning  of  the  candles  typified 
the  consumption  of  their  sins,  the  melting  of  their  church,  or  the  illumination 
of  soul  which  they  so  greatly  needed,  I  do  not  know.  There  were  also  carried 
great  lamps  of  silver,  or  electro-plate,  very  much  like  our  own  street  lamps,  only 
of  course  not  quite  so  heavy  ;  and  these,  too,  when  the  sun  was  shining  brightly, 
and  there  was  no  need  of  the  slightest  artificial  light.  In  all  solemnity,  the  men 
marched  along,  not  in  the  dark  cathedral,  but  in  the  open  streets,  with  these  candles 
and  lanterns  blazing  and  shaming  the  sunlight.  Someone  told  me  they  were 
taking  '  the  most  blessed  and  comfortable  sacrament '  to  some  sick  people  ;  but  what 
the  candles  had  to  do  with  the  sacrament,  or  the  sacrament  with  the  candles, 
or  the  people  with  the  sacrament,  I  do  not  know.  I  noticed  two  little  boys,  very 
handsomely  dressed,  walking  in  the  middle  of  the  procession,  and  throwing  flowers 
and  oak  leaves  before  the  priests  as  they  walked  ;  so  that,  as  they  went  along, 
their  holy  feet  scarcely  needed  to  touch  the  soil,  or  to  be  hurt  with  the  stones. 
The  presence  of  those  children,  full  of  infantile  joy,  relieved  the  soul  for  a  moment, 
and  bade  us  pray  that  our  own  little  ones  might  take  part  in  a  nobler  celebration 
when  the  Lord  Himself  should  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father.  Almost  every 
house  had,  just  before  the  window,  a  little  place  for  holding  a  candle  ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  inmates  heard  the  procession  coming  along,  the  candles  were  lighted.  1 
noticed   that,    the    moment    it    passed,   the  thrifty    housewives  blew  out  the  lights. 


364  C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

and  so  they  saved  their  tallow  if  they  did  not  save  their  souls.  I  enquired,  and 
was  informed — and  I  think  on  good  authority, — that  even  some  of  the  Protestants 
in  Antwerp  burn  these  candles  in  front  ot  their  houses  lest  their  trade  should  be 
hindered  if  they  did  not  conform  to  the  customs  of  the  rest  of  the  people  ;  it  is  an 
unutterable  disgrace  to  them  if  they  do  so.  I  would  like  to  have  seen  Martin  Luther 
with  a  candle  before  his  door  when  the  priests  were  passing,  unless,  indeed,  he  had 
burned  the  Pope's  Bull  before  their  eyes.  He  would  sooner  have  died  than  have 
paid  respect  to  a  baptized  heathenism,  a  mass  ot  idolatries  and  superstitions. 
Never  did  I  feel  my  Protestant  feelings  boiling  over  so  tremendously  as  in  this 
city  of  idols,  for  I  am  not  an  outrageous  Protestant  generally,  and  I  rejoice  to 
confess  that  I  feel  sure  there  are  some  of  God's  people  even  in  the  Romish  Church, 
as  I  shall  have  to  show  you  by-and-by ;  but  I  did  feel  indignant  when  I  saw 
the  glory  and  worship,  which  belong  to  God  alone,  given  to  pictures,  and  images 
ot  wood  and  stone.  When  I  saw  the  pulpits  magnificently  carved,  the  gems  set 
in  the  shrines,  the  costly  marbles,  the  rich  and  rare  paintings  upon  which  a  man 
might  gaze  for  a  day,  and  see  some  new  beauty  in  each  face,  I  did  not  marvel  that  men 
were  enchanted  therewith  ;  but  when  I  saw  the  most  flagrant  violation  of  taste  and  of 
religion  in  their  "  Calvarys  "  and  cheap  prints,  my  spirit  was  stirred  within  me,  for  I 
saw  a  people  wholly  given  unto  idolatry.  They  seem  as  if  they  could  not  live  without 
Mary  the  Virgin,  and  without  continually  paying  reverence  and  adoration  to  her. 

"  We  journeyed  from  Antwerp  to  Brussels.  I  cannot  say  that  Brussels  greatly 
interested  me  ;  I  do  not  care  much  for  places  in  which  there  is  nothing  but  fine 
buildings  and  museums.  I  had  much  rather  see  an  odd,  old-fashioned  city  like 
Antwerp,  with  its  sunny  memories  of  Rubens,  Ouintin  Matsys,  and  other  princes  in 
the  realm  of  art.  I  think  its  singular  houses,  its  quaint  costumes,  and  its  ancient 
streets,  will  never  die  out  of  my  memory.  In  Brussels,  I  heard  a  good  sermon  in  a 
Romish  church.  The  place  was  crowded  with  people,  many  of  them  standing, 
though  they  might  have  had  a  seat  for  a  halfpenny  or  a  farthing  ;  and  I  stood,  too  ; 
and  the  good  priest — for  I  believe  he  is  a  good  man, — preached  the  Lord  Jesus  with 
all  his  might.  He  spoke  of  the  love  of  Christ,  so  that  L  a  very  poor  hand  at  the 
French  language,  could  fully  understand  him,  and  my  heart  kept  beating  within  me 
as  he  told  of  the  beauties  of  Christ,  and  the  preciousness  of  His  blood,  and  of  His 
power  to  save  the  chief  of  sinners.  He  did  not  say,  'justification  by  faith,'  but  he 
did  say,  '  efificacy  of  the  blood,'  which  comes  to  very  much  the  same  thing.  He  did 
not  tell  us  we  were  saved  by  grace,  and  not  by  our  works  ;  but  he  did  say  that  all 
the  works  of  men  were  less  than  nothing  when  brought  into  competition  with  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  alone  could  save.  True,  there  were 
objectionable  sentences,  as  naturally  there  must  be  in  a  discourse  delivered  under 
such  circumstances  ;  but  I   could  have  gone   to  the  preacher,  and  have  said  to  him, 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  365 

'  Brother,  you  have  spoken  the  truth  ; '  and  if  I  had  been  handling  his  text,  I  must 
have  treated  it  in  the  same  way  that  he  did,  if  I  could  have  done  it  as  well.  I  was 
pleased  to  find  my  own  opinion  verified,  in  his  case,  that  there  are,  even  in  the 
apostate  church,  some  who  cleave  unto  the  Lord, — some  sparks  of  Heavenly  fire  that 
flicker  amidst  the  rubbish  of  old  superstition,  some  lights  that  are  not  blown  out, 
even  by  the  strong-  wind  of  Popery,  but  still  cast  a  feeble  gleam  across  the  waters 
sufficient  to  guide  the  soul  to  the  rock  Christ  Jesus.  I  saw,  in  that  church,  a  box 
for  contributions  for  the  Pope  ;  he  will  never  grow  rich  with  what  I  put  into  it. 
I  have  seen  money-boxes  on  the  Continent  for  different  saints, — Santa  Clara,  St. 
Francis,  St.  Dominic  ;  another  box  for  the  Virgin,  and  another  for  the  poor ; 
but  I  ne/er  could  make  out  how  the  money  got  to  the  Virgin,  and  to  Dominic,  and 
to  the  rest  of  them  ;  but  I  have  a  notion  that,  if  you  were  to  discover  how  the  money 
gets  to  the  poor,  you  would  find  how  it  reaches  the  saints. 

"After  leaving  Brussels,  and  getting  a  distant  glimpse  of  the  Lion  iSlound  of 
Waterloo,  we  hurried  down  to  Namur,  and  steamed  along  the  Meuse, — that 
beautiful  river,  which  is  said  to  be  an  introduction  to  the  Rhine,  but  which  to  my 
mind  is  a  fair  rival  to  it  ;  it  quite  spoiled  me  for  the  Rhine.  Everywhere,  on  each 
side,  there  were  new  phases  of  beauty,  and  sweet  little  pictures  which  shone  in  the 
sunshine  like  small  but  exquisite  gems.  It  was  not  one  vast  Koh-i-noor  diamond  ; 
it  was  not  sublimity  mingling  its  awe  with  loveliness  such  as  you  would  see  in 
Switzerland  with  its  majestic  mountains,  but  a  succession  of  beautiful  pearls, 
threaded  on  the  silver  string  of  that  swiftly-flowing  river.  It  is  so  narrow  and 
shallow  that,  as  the  steamboat  glides  along,  it  drives  up  a  great  wave  upon  the 
banks  on  either  side.  In  some  parts,  along  the  river,  there  were  signs  of  mineral 
wealth,  and  the  people  were  washing  the  ironstone  at  the  water's  edge  to  separate 
the  ore  from  the  earth. 

"  One  thing  which  I  saw  here  I  must  mention,  as  it  is  a  type  of  a  prevailing  evil 
in  Belgium.  When  there  were  barges  of  ironstone  to  be  unloaded,  the  women  bore 
the  heavy  baskets  upon  their  backs.  If  there  were  coals  or  bricks  to  be  carried,  the 
women  did  it  ;  they  carried  everything  ;  and  their  lords  and  masters  sat  still,  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  seeing  them  at  work,  and  hoped  it  might  do  them  good,  while  they 
themselves  were  busily  engaged  in  the  important  occupation  of  smoking  their  pipes. 
When  we  came  to  a  landing-place,  if  the  rope  was  to  be  thrown  oft'  so  that  the  steam- 
boat might  be  secured,  there  was  always  a  woman  to  run  and  seize  it,  and  there  stood 
a  big,  lazy  fellow  to  give  directions  as  to  how  she  should  do  it.  We  joked  with  each 
other  upon  the  possibility  of  getting  our  wives  to  do  the  like  ;  but,  indeed,  it  is 
scarcely  a  joking  matter  to  see  poor  women  compelled  to  work  like  slaves,  as  if  they 
were  only  made  to  support  their  husbands  in  idleness.  They  were  fagged  and 
worn  ;  but  they  looked  more  fully  developed  than  the  men,  and  seemed  to  be  more 


366  C.     H.     SPURGEON's     AUTOBIOGRArHV. 

masculine.  If  I  had  been  one  of  those  women,  and  I  liad  got  a  little  bit  ot  a 
husband  sitting  there  smoking  his  pipe,  if  there  is  a  law  in  Belgium  that  gives  a 
woman  two  months  for  beating  her  husband,  I  fear  I  should  have  earned  the 
penalty.  Anyhow,  I  would  have  said  to  him,  '  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for 
doing  me  the  honour  of  marrying  me  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  if  1  am  to  work  and 
earn  jKOZ^r  living  and  my  own,  too,  you  will  smoke  your  pipe  somewhere  else.'  The 
fact  is,  my  dear  friends,  to  come  to  something  that  may  be  worth  our  thinking  about, 
employment  for  women  is  greatly  needed  in  our  country,  and  the  want  of  it  is  a  very 
great  evil  ;  but  it  is  not  so  much  to  be  deplored  as  that  barbarity  which  dooms 
women  to  sweep  the  streets,  to  till  the  fields,  to  carry  heavy  burdens,  and  to  be  the 
drudges  of  the  family.  We  greatly  need  that  watchmaking,  printing,  telegraphing, 
bookselling,  and  other  indoor  occupations  should  be  more  freely  open  to  female 
industry,  but  may  Heaven  save  our  poor  women  from  the  position  of  their  Con- 
tinental sisters !  The  gospel  puts  woman  where  she  should  be,  gives  her  an 
honourable  position  in  the  house  and  in  the  Church  ;  but  where  women  become  the 
votaries  of  superstition,  they  will  soon  be  made  the  burden-bearers  of  society.  Our 
best  feelings  revolt  at  the  idea  of  putting  fond,  faithful,  and  afl'ectionate  women  to 
oppressive  labour.  Our  mothers,  our  sisters,  our  wives,  our  daughters  are  much  too 
honourable  in  our  esteem  to  be  treated  otherwise  than  as  dear  companions,  for 
whom  it  shall  be  our  delight  to  live  and  labour. 

"  We  went  next  to  a  sweet  little  village  called  Chaufontaine,  surrounded  with 
verdant  hills,  and  so  truly  rural,  that  one  could  forget  that  there  was  such  a  place  as 
a  busy,  noisy,  distracting  world.  Here  we  found  the  villagers  at  work  making  gun- 
barrels  with  old-fashioned  tilt-hammers.  Here  for  the  first  time  we  saw  industrious 
men.  Talk  about  long  hours  in  England  !  These  blacksmiths  rise  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  I  do  not  know  when  they  leave  off;  only  this  I  know,  that 
we  passed  by  them  very  late,  and  found  them  still  hard  at  work  at  the  blazing  forge, 
hammering  away  at  the  gun-barrels,  welding  the  iron  into  a  tube,  working  almost 
without  clothing,  the  sweat  pouring  down  them,  and  mingling  with  the  black  and 
soot  of  their  faces. 

"  The  real  workers  on  the  Continent  seem  to  be  always  toiling,  and  never 
appear  to  stop  at  all,  except  at  dinner-time.  Then  \-ou  may  go  to  the  shop,  and  knock 
until  your  arm  aches,  but  there  is  nobody  to  sell  you  anything  ;  they  are  all 
having  their  dinner.  That  is  a  most  important  operation,  and  they  do  not  like  to 
come  out  even  to  wait  upon  a  customer.  I  knocked  a  long  time  at  a  door  in  Zurich 
where  I  wanted  to  buy  a  print  ;  but  the  man  had  gone  to  his  dinner,  so  I  had  to 
wait  till  he  had  finished.  That  breaking  up  of  the  day,  I  have  no  doubt  tends,  after 
all,  to  shorten  the  hours  of  labour  ;  but  there  is  work  to  be  done  in  the  villages  of 
the  Continent  by  the  Early  Closing  Association, — it  will  be  well  if  they  can  persuade 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  367 

people  that  they  can  do  quite  as  much  if  they  work  fewer  hours.  In  the  country 
villages,  science  appears  to  be  very  backward.  My  friend  declared  that  he  saw  the 
linchpin  of  a  waggon  which  weighed  two  pounds  ;  I  never  saw  such  a  huge  linchpin 
anywhere  else.  And  as  to  the  carts  and  waggons,  they  were  like  racks  put  on  a 
couple  of  pairs  of  wheelsj  and  in  every  case  five  times  as  heavy  as  they  need  be  ;  and 
thus  the  horses  have  a  load  to  begin  with  before  the  cart  is  loaded.  On  the  Con- 
tinent, I  think  they  have,  in  .some  towns  and  cities,  made  progress  superior  to  our 
own  ;  but  in  the  rural  parts  of  any  country  you  like  to  choose,  you  would  find  them  far 
behind  our  village  population.  The  intelligence  of  those  countries  is  centered  in  the 
large  towns,  and  it  does  not  radiate  and  spread  its  healthy  influence  in  the  rural 
districts  so  swiftly  as  in  our  own  beloved  land.  It  is  well  to  see  progress  even  in 
these  social  matters,  because,  as  men  advance  in  arts  and  commerce,  it  otten  happens 
that  they  are  brought  into  contact  with  other  lands,  and  so  the  Word  of  God  becomes 
more  widely  known.  I  believe  every  steam-engine,  every  railroad,  every  steamboat, 
and  every  threshing-machine,  to  be  a  deadly  enemy  to  ignorance  ;  and  what  is 
ignorance  but  the  corner-stone  of  superstition  ? 

"  As  everybody  who  goes  on  the  Continent  visits  Cologne,  so  did  we  ;  but  I 
must  say  of  Cologne  that  I  have  a  more  vivid  recollection  of  what  I  smelt  than  of 
what  1  saw.  The  Cologne  odour  is  more  impressive  than  the  Eau  de  Cologne.  1 
had  heard  Albert  Smjth  say  he  believed  there  were  eighty-three  distinct  bad  smells  in 
Cologne,  and  in  my  opinion  he  understated  the  number,  for  every  yard  presented 
something  more  terrible  than  we  had  ever  smelt  before.  Better  to  pay  our  heavy 
ta.xes  for  drainage  than  live  in  such  odours.  Our  filthy  friend,  the  Thames,  is  as 
sweet  as  rose-water  when  compared  with  Cologne  or  Frankfort.  Hear  this,  ye 
grumblers,  and  be  thankful  that  you  are  not  worse  off  than  you  are  !  We  went  down 
the  Rhine  ;  and  it  was  just  a  repetition  of  what  we  saw  down  the  Meuse,  with  the 
addition  of  castles  and  legends.  My  want  of  taste  is  no  doubt  the  cause  of  my 
disappointment  upon  seeing  this  river.  The  lakes  of  Westmoreland  and  Cumber- 
land, and  the  lochs  of  Scotland,  fairly  rival  the  Rhine,  and  are  of  much  the  same 
character.     Go  and  see  for  yourselves,  and  you  will  not  repent  it. 

"We  went  across  to  Frankfort  and  Heidelberg,  and  then  to  Baden-Baden. 
Let  me  say  a  few  words  about  Baden.  I  went  to  see  the  gaming-table  there  ;  it  was, 
without  exception,  the  most  mournful  sight  I  ever  looked  upon.  The  Conversation 
House  at  Baden  is  a  gorgeous  building.  Wealth  could  not  make  it  more  splendid 
than  it  is.  All  the  luxuries  that  can  be  gathered  from  the  very  ends  of  the  earth 
are  lavished  there.  It  is  a  fairy  palace,  more  like  the  fantastic  creation  of  a  dream 
than  sober  substantial  fact.  You  are  freely  admitted  ;  no  charge  is  made,  whilst  the 
most  beautiful  music  that  can  be  found  waits  to  charm  your  ear.  Every  place  of 
amusement  is  free  ;  even  the   public   library  is  free.     You  ask  me   how   all   this  is 


368  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

supported.  To  the  left  of  the  building  there  are  two  rooms  for  gaming.  There  is 
a  long  table,  and  a  great  crowd  standing  round  it  ;  the  seats  are  all  full,  and  there  sit 
four  men  in  the  middle  with  long  rakes,  pulling  money  this  way  and  that  way,  and 
shoving  it  here  and  there.  I  hardly  ever  saw  such  a  mass  of  money,  except  upon  a 
banker's  counter.  There  arc  long  piles  of  gold  done  up  in  marked  quantities,  and 
there  are  also  heaps  of  silver  money.  You  see  a  young  man  come  in  ;  he  does  not 
seem  like  a  gambler.  He  puts  down  a  half-napoleon  as  a  mere  joke  :  in  a  minute  it 
is  shovelled  away  ;  he  has  lost  his  money.  He  walks  round  again,  and  puts  down 
another  piece  of  gold  ;  this  time  he  wins,  and  he  has  two.  By-and-by  he  will  play 
more  deeply,  and  the  day  will  probably  come  when  he  will  stake  his  all,  and  lose  it. 
You  may  see  women  sitting  there  all  night  playing  for  high  stakes.  Some  people  win, 
but  everybody  must  lose  sooner  or  later,  for  the  chances  are  dreadfully  against  any 
man  who  plays.  The  bank  clears  an  enormous  sum  every  year  ;  I  am  afraid  to 
mention  the  amount  lest  I  should  be  thought  to  exaggerate.  What  staring  eyes, 
what  covetous  looks,  what  fiery  faces  I  saw  there  !  And  what  multitudes  go  into 
that  place  happy,  and  return  to  curse  the  day  of  their  birth  !  I  had  the  sorrow  of 
seeing  some  fools  play.  I  saw  young  men,  who  lost  so  much  that  they  had  hardly 
enough  to  take  them  back  to  England.  Such  is  the  infatuation  that  I  am  not 
surprised  when  spectators  are  carried  away  by  the  torrent.  There  are  some  who 
defend  the  system  ;  I  hold  it  to  be  fraught  with  more  deadly  evils  than  anything  else 
that  could  be  invented,  even  by  Satan  himself.  I  saw  an  old  respectable-looking 
man  put  down  ten  pounds.  He  won,  and  he  received  twenty.  He  put  down  the 
twenty  ;  he  won  again,  and  he  had  forty.  He  put  down  the  forty,  and  received 
eighty.  He  put  down  the  eighty,  and  took  up  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds. 
Then  he  put  it  all  in  his  pocket,  and  walked  away  as  calmly  as  possible.  The 
man  would  lose  money  by  that  transaction,  because  he  would  go  back  on  the  morrow, 
and  probably  play  till  he  would  sell  the  house  that  covers  his  children's  heads,  and 
pawn  the  very  bed  from  under  his  wife.  The  worst  thing  that  can  happen  to  a  man 
who  gambles  is  to  win.  If  you  lose,  it  serves  you  right,  and  there  is  hope  that  you 
will  repent  of  your  folly  ;  if  you  win,  the  devil  will  have  you  in  his  net  so  thoroughly 
that  escape  will  be  well-nigh  impossible.  I  charge  every  young  man  here,  above  all 
things  never  have  anything  to  do  with  games  of  chance.  If  you  desire  to  make 
your  damnation  doubly  sure,  and  ruin  both  body  and  soul,  go  to  the  gaming-table  ; 
but  if  not,  avoid  it,  pass  by  it,  look  not  at  it,  for  it  has  a  basilisk's  eye,  and  may 
entice  you  ;  and  it  has  the  sting  of  an  adder,  and  will  certainly  destroy  you  if  you 
come  beneath  its  deadly  influence. 

"  From  Baden-Baden,  we  went  to  Freiburg,  and  afterwards  to  Schafthausen. 
There,  for  the  first  time,  we  saw  the  Alps.  It  was  a  wonderful  sight,  though  in  the 
dim  distance  we  hardly  knew  whether  we  saw  clouds  or  mountains.     We  had  to 


c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography.  369 

hold  a  sort  of  controversy  with  ourselves, — '  Is  that  solid — that  glittering  whiteness, 
that  sunny  shimmering  that  we  see  there  ?  Is  it  a  bank  of  white  mist  ?  Is  it  cloud,  or 
is  it  a  mountain  ? '  Soon  you  are  assured  that  you  are  actually  beholding  the  ever- 
lasting hills.  II  a  man  does  not  feel  like  praising  God  at  such  a  moment,  I  do  not 
think  there  is  any  grace  in  him  ;  if  there  be  anything  like  piety  in  a  man's  soul  when 
he  sees  those  glorious  works  of  God,  he  will  begin  to  praise  the  Lord,  and  magnify 
His  holy  Name.  We  went  from  Schafthausen  to  Zurich.  Everywhere  there  was 
something  to  delight  us.  The  magnificent  falls  of  the  Rhine,  the  clear  blue  waters 
of  the  Zurich  lake,  the  distant  mountains,  the  ever-changing  costumes  of  the  people, 
— all  kept  us  wide  awake,  and  gratified  our  largest  love  of  novelties.  All  nature 
presented  us  with  a  vast  entertainment,  and  every  turn  of  the  head  introduced  us  to 
something  new  and  beautiful. 

"At  Zurich,  I  saw  in  the  great  fair  what  I  also  saw  at  Baden-Baden,  a  sight 
which  gave  me  pleasure,  namely,  the  little  star  of  truth  shining  brightly  amid  the 
surrounding  darkness.  Opposite  the  house  at  Baden  where  Satan  was  ruining  souls  at 
the  gaming-table,  there  was  a  stall  at  which  an  agent  of  the  Bible  Society  was  selling 
Bibles  and  Testaments.  I  went  up  and  bought  a  Testament  of  him,  and  felt  quite 
cheered  to  see  the  little  battery  erected  right  before  the  fortifications  of  Satan,  for  I 
felt  in  my  soul  it  was  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  the  stronghold. 
Then,  in  the  midst  of  the  fair  at  Zurich,  where  the  people  were  selling  all  manner  of 
things,  as  at  John  Bunyan's  Vanity  Fair,  there  stood  a  humble-looking  man  with  his 
stall,  upon  which  there  were  Bibles,  Testaments,  and  Mr.  Ryle's  tracts.  It  is  always 
a  great  comfort  to  me  to  see  my  sermons,  in  French  and  other  languages,  sold  at  the 
same  shops  as  the  writings  of  that  e.\cellent  man  of  God.  There  is  the  simple 
gospel  in  his  tracts,  and  they  are  to  my  knowledge  singularly  owned  of  God.  How 
sweet  it  is  'to  see  these  dear  brethren  in  other  churches  loving  our  Lord,  and 
honoured  by   Him  ! 

"At  Lucerne,  we  spent  our  third  Sabbath-day.  Of  all  days  in  the  year, 
Sabbath-days  on  the  Continent  are  the  most  wretched,  so  far  as  the  public  means  of 
grace  are  concerned  ;  this  one,  however,  was  spent  in  quiet  worship  in  our  own  room. 
Our  first  Sabbath  was  a  dead  waste,  for  the  service  at  church  was  lifeless,  spiritless, 
graceless,  powerless.  Even  the  grand  old  prayers  were  so  badly  read  that  it  was 
impossible  to  be  devout  while  hearing  them,  and  the  sermon  upon  'the  justice  of 
God  in  destroying  the  Canaanites  '  was  as  much  adapted  to  convert  a  sinner,  or  to 
edify  a  saint,  as  Burke's  Peerage,  or  Walker's  Dictionary  ;  there  was  nothing, 
however,  Puseyistical  or  heretical.  Far  worse  was  our  second  Sunday,  in  Baden, 
which  effectually  prevented  my  attending  Episcopal  service  again  until  I  can  be  sure 
of  hearing  truthful  doctrine.  The  preacher  was  manifestly  a  downright  Puseyite 
because,  during  one  part  of  the  service,  he  must  needs  go  up  to  the  Roman  Catholic 


2,70  C.     H.     SrURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

altar,  and  there  bow  himself  with  his  back  to  us.  The  images  and  idols  were  not 
concealed  in  any  way  ;  there  they  were  in  all  their  open  harlotry,  and  I  must  say  they 
were  in  full  keeping-  with  the  sermon  which  was  inflicted  upon  us.  The  preacher 
thought  he  would  give  us  a  smart  hit,  so  he  began  with  an  attack  upon  all  who  did 
not  subscribe  to  baptismal  regeneration  and  sacramental  efficacy.  He  did  not  care 
what  we  might  say,  he  was  certain  that,  when  the  holy  drops  fell  from  the  fingers  of 
God's  ordained  minister,  regeneration  there  and  then  took  place.  I  thought,  '  Well, 
that  is  coming  out,  and  the  man  is  more  honest  than  some  of  the  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing,  who  hold  baptismal  regeneration,  but  will  not  openly  confess  it.'  The  whole 
sermon  through,  he  treated  us  to  sacramental  efficacy,  and  made  some  allusion  to 
St.  George's  riots,  saying  that  it  was  an  awful  thing  that  the  servants  of  God  were 
subjected  to  persecution,  and  then  he  told  us  we  had  not  sufficient  respect  for  our 
ministers,  that  the  real  ordained  successors  of  the  apostles  were  trodden  down  as 
mire  in  the  streets.  I  abstained  from  going  to  church  after  fhat  ;  and  if  I  were  to 
continue  for  seven  years  without  the  public  means  of  grace,  unless  I  knew  that  a 
man  of  kindred  spirit  with  Mr.  Allen,  Mr.  Cadman,  Mr.  Ryle,  and  that  holy 
brotherhood  of  Evangelicals,  would  occupy  the  pulpit,  I  never  would  enter  an 
Anglican  church  again.  These  Puseyites  make  good  Churchmen  turn  to  the 
Dissenters,  and  we  who  already  dissent,  are  driven  further  and  further  from  the 
Establishment.  In  the  name  of  our  Protestant  religion,  I  ask  whether  a  minister 
of  the  Church  of  England  is  allowed  to  bow  before  the  altar  of  a  Popish  church  ? 
Is  there  no  rule  or  canon  which  restrains  men  from  such  an  outrage  upon  our 
professed  faith,  such  an  insult  to  our  Constitution  ?  In  the  church  at  Lucerne,  I 
think  they  had  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist,  with  some  of  the  blood  in  a  dish,  and 
other  relics  innumerable  ;  yet  I  was  expected  to  go  on  Sunday,  and  worship  there  ! 
I  could  not  do  it,  for  I  should  have  kept  on  thinking  of  John  the  Baptist's  head  in 
the  corner.  Though  I  have  a  great  respect  for  that  Baptist,  and  all  other  Baptists, 
I  do  not  think  I  could  have  controlled  myself  sufficiently  to  worship  God  under 
such  circumstances. 

"  We  went  up  the  Rigi,  as  everybody  must  do  who  visits  the  Alps,  toiling  up, 
up,  up,  ever  so  high,  to  see  the  sun  go  to  bed  ;  and  then  we  were  awakened  in  the 
morning,  with  a  dreadful  blowing  of  horns,  to  get  up  and  see  the  sun  rise.  Out  we 
went,  but  his  gracious  majesty,  the  sun,  would  not  condescend  to  show  himself;  or,  at 
least,  he  had  been  up  half-an-hour  before  we  knew  it  ;  so  we  all  went  down  again, 
and  that  was  the  end  of  our  glorious  trip.  Yet  it  was  worth  while  to  go  up  to  see 
the  great  mountains  all  around  us,  it  was  a  sight  which  might  make  an  angel  stand 
and  gaze,  and  gaze  again  ;  the  various  sharp  or  rounded  peaks  and  snowy  summits, 
are  all  worthy  of  the  toil  which  brings  them  into  view.  The  circular  panorama  seen 
from  the  Rigi-Kulm  is  perhaps  unrivalled.      There  is  the  lake  of   Zug,  there  the 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  37 1 

long  arms  of  Lucerne,  yonder  Mount  Pilatus,  and  further  yet  the  Black  Forest 
range.  Just  at  your  feet  is  the  buried  town  of  Goldau,  sad  tomb  in  which  a 
multitude  were  crushed  by  a  falling  mountain.  The  height  is  dizzy  to  unaccustomed 
brains,  but  the  air  is  bracing,  and  the  prospect  such  as  one  might  picture  from  the 
top  of  Pisgah,  where  the  prophet  of  Horeb  breathed  out  his  soul  to  God. 

"  We  went  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  and  saw  everything  that  was  to  be  seen  ; 
and,  at  last,  after  a  long  journey,  we  came  to  Geneva.  I  had  received  the  kindest 
invitation  from  our  esteemed  and  excellent  brother,  Dr.  D'Aubigne.  He  came  to 
meet  me  at  the  station,  but  he  missed  me.  I  met  a  gendeman  in  the  street,  and 
told  him  I  was  Mr.  Spurgeon.  He  then  said,  '  Come  to  my  house, — the  very  house 
where  Calvin  used  to  live.'  I  went  home  with  him  ;  and  after  we  found  Dr. 
D'Aubigne  and  Pastor  Bard,  I  was  taken  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Lombard,  an  eminent 
banker  of  the  city,  and  a  godly  and  gracious  man.  I  think  I  never  enjoyed  a  time 
more  than  I  did  with  those  real  true-hearted  brethren.  There  are,  you  know,  two 
churches  there, — the  Established  and  the  Free  ;  and  there  has  been  some  litde 
bickering  and  some  litde  jealousy,  but  I  think  it  is  all  dying  away  ;  at  any  rate,  I  saw 
none  of  it,  for  brethren  from  both  these  churches  carne,  and  showed  me  every 
kindness  and  honour.  I  am  not  superstitious,  but  the  first  time  I  saw  this  medal, 
bearing  the  venerated  likeness  of  John  Calvin,  I  kissed  it,  imagining  that  no  one  sav/ 
the  action.  I  was  very  greatly  surprised  when  I  received  this  magnificent  present, 
which   shall   be   passed  round  tor  your  inspection.      On  the  one  side  is  John  Calvin 


FACSIMILE   OF   CALVIN    MEDAL   PRESENTED   TO   MR.    SPURGEON   AT   GENEVA. 

with   his   visage   worn   by   disease   and  deep   thought,   and   on   the   other  side  is  a 
verse  fully  applicable  to  him  :   '  He  endured,  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.'     This 


ZT^  c.    H.    spurgeon's    autobiography. 

sentence  truly  describes  the  character  of  that  glorious  man  of  God.  Among  all  those 
who  have  been  born  of  women,  there  has  not  risen  a  greater  than  John  Calvin  ; 
no  age  before  him  ever  produced  his  equal,  and  no  age  afterwards  has  seen  his  rival. 
In  theology,  he  stands  alone,  shining  like  a  bright  fixed  star,  while  other  leaders  and 
teachers  can  only  circle  round  him,  at  a  great  distance, — as  comets  go  streaming 
through  space, — with  nothing  like  his  glory  or  his  permanence.  Calvin's  fame  is 
eternal  because  of  the  truth  he  proclaimed  ;  and  even  in  Heaven,  although  we  shall 
lose  the  name  of  the  system  of  doctrine  which  he  taught,  it  shall  be  that  truth  which 
shall  make  us  strike  our  golden  harps,  and  sing,  '  Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and 
washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God  and  His  Father  ;  to  Him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ev^er  and  ever  ;'  for 
the  essence  ot  Calvinism  is  that  we  are  born  again,  '  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.' 

"  I  preached  in  the  cathedral  at  Geneva  ;  and  I  thought  it  a  great  honour  to  be 
allowed  to  stand  in  the  pulpit  of  John  Calvin.  I  do  not  think  half  the  people 
understood  me  ;  but  they  were  very  glad  to  see  and  join  /;/  heart  with  the  worship 
in  which  they  could  not  join  with  the  understanding.  I  did  not  feel  very  happy 
when  I  came  out  in  full  canonicals,  but  the  request  was  put  to  me  in  such  a  beautiful 
way  that  I  could  have  worn  the  Pope's  tiara,  if  by  so  doing  I  could  have  preached  the 
gospel  the  more  freely.  They  said,  '  Our  dear  brother  comes  to  us  from  another 
country.  Now,  when  an  ambassador  comes  from  another  land,  he  has  the  right  to 
wear  his  own  costume  at  Court  ;  but,  as  a  mark  of  great  esteem,  he  sometimes 
condescends  to  the  manners  of  the  people  he  is  visiting,  and  wears  their  Court  dress.' 
Well,'  I  said,  '  yes,  that  I  will,  certainly,  if  you  do  not  require  it,  but  merely  ask  it 
as  a  token  of  my  Christian  love.  I  shall  feel  like  running  in  a  sack,  but  it  will  be 
your  fault.'  It  was  John  Calvin's  gown,  and  that  reconciled  me  to  it  very  much. 
I  do  love  that  man  of  God  ;  suffering  all  his  life  long,  enduring  not  only  persecutions 
from  without  but  a  complication  of  disorders  from  within,  and  yet  serving  his 
Master  with  all  his  heart. 

"  I  ask  your  prayers  for  the  Church  at  Geneva.  That  little  Republic  stands 
now,  like  an  island  as  it  were,  on  each  side  shut  in  by  France,  and  I  can  assure  you 
there  are  no  greater  Anti-Gallicans  in  the  whole  world  than  the  Genevese.  Without 
knowing  that  I  trod  upon  tender  ground,  I  frequently  said,  '  Why,  you  are  almost 
French  people  ! '  At  last  they  hinted  to  me  that  they  did  not  like  me  to  say  so,  and 
I  did  not  say  it  any  more.  They  are  afraid  of  being  Frenchified  :  they  cannot 
endure  the  thought  of  it  ;  they  know  the  sweets  of  liberty,  and  cannot  bear  that  they 
should  be  absorbed  into  that  huge  monarchy.  Dr.  D'Aubigne  charged  me  with 
this  message,  '  Stir  up  the  Christians  of  England  to  make  Geneva  a  matter  of  special 
prayer.     We  do  not  dread  the  arms  of  France,  nor  invasion  ;  but  something  worse 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


?>72, 


than  that,  namely,  the  introduction  of  French   principles.'     There  is  a  French  popu- 
lation constantly  crossing  the  border  ;   they  bring-  in  infidelity,   and  neglect  of  the 


THE    PULPIT,    ST.    PETEK  S   L.\l  litDK.IL,    G£,NLV.\, 
(Calvin's  chair  stands  on  the  floor  below  the  pulpit.) 


S,ibbath-day,  and   Romanism   is  making  very  great  advances.      The  brethren  said, 
'  Ask  the  people  to  pray  for  us,  that  we  may  stand  firm  and  true.      As  we  have  been 


374 


H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


the  mother  of  many  churches,  desert  us  not  in  the  hour  of  our  need,  but  hold  us 
up  in  your  arms,  and  pray  that  the  Lord  may  still  make  Geneva  a  praise  throughout 
the  earth.'  After  the  service  in  the  cathedral,  it  was  arranged  for  me  to  meet  the 
ministers  ;  D'Aubigne  was  there,  of  course,  and  Caesar  Malan,  and  most  of  the  noted 
preachers  of  Switzerland.  We  spent  a  very  delightful  evening  together,  talking  about 
our  common  Lord,  and  of  the  progress  of  His  work  in  England  and  on  the  Continent ; 
and  when  they  bade  me  '  Good-bye,'  every  one  of  those  ministers — a  hundred  and 
fifty,  or  perhaps  two  hundred  of  them, — kissed  me  on  both  cheeks  !  It  was  rather 
an  ordeal  for  me,  but  it  was  meant  to  express  their  esteem  and  regard,  and  I  accepted 
it  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  given.  It  was  a  peculiar  pleasure  to  me  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  visiting  that  great  centre  of  earnest  Protestantism,  and  of  meeting 
so  many  of  the  godly  and  faithful  men  who  had  helped  to  keep  the  lamp  of  truth 
burning  brightly.  To  my  dying  day,  I  shall  remember  those  servants  of  Jesus  Christ 
who  greeted  me  in  my  Master's  name,  and  lo\ed  me  for  my  Masters  sake. 
Hospitality  unbounded,  love  unalloyed,  and  communion  undisturbed,  are  precious 
pens  with  which  the  brethren  in  Geneva  wrote  their  names  upon  my  heart. 

"  At  last  we  got  away  from  Geneva,  and  went  off  to  Chamouni.  What  a 
glorious  place  that  Chamouni  is  !  My  heart  flies  thither  in  recollection  of  her 
glories.  The  very  journey  from  Geneva  to  Chamouni  fires  one's  heart.  The  mind 
longs  to  climb  the  heavens  as  those  mountains  do.  It  seemed  to  sharpen  my  soul's 
desires  and  lonoings  till,  like  the  peaks  of  the  Alps,  I  could  pierce  the  skies.  I 
cannot  speak  as  I  should  if  I  had  one  of  those  mountains  in  view  ;  if  I  could 
point  out  of  the  window,  and  say,  '  There  !  see  its  frosted  brow  !  see  its  ancient 
hoary  head  ! '  and  then  speak  to  you  of  the  avalanches  that  come  rattling  down  the 
side,  then  I  think  I  could  give  you  some  poetry.  We  went  up  the  Mer  de  Glace  on 
mules.  I  had  the  great  satisfaction  of  hearing  three  or  four  avalanches  come  rolling- 
down  like  thunder.  In  descending,  I  was  in  advance,  and  alone  ;  I  sat  down  and 
mused,  but  I  soon  sprang-  up,  for  I  thought  the  avalanche  was  coming  right  on  me, 
there  was  such  a  tremendous  noise.  We  crossed  many  places  where  the  snow,  in 
rushing  down  from  the  top,  had  swept  away  every  tree  and  every  stone,  and  left 
nothing  but  the  stumps  of  the  trees,  and  a  kind  of  slide  from  the  top  of  the  mountain 
to  the  very  valley.  What  extraordinary  works  of  God  there  are  to  be  seen  there  ! 
We  have  no  idea  of  what  God  Himself  is.  As  I  went  among  those  mountains  and 
valleys,  I  felt  like  a  little  creeping  insect.  I  sank  lower  and  lower,  and  grew  smaller 
and  smaller,  while  my  soul  kept  crying  out, — 

"  '  Great  God,  how  infinite  art  Thou ! 
What  worthless  worms  are  we  ! ' 

"  After  leaving  Chamouni,  we  came  at  last  to  what  was  to  be  the  great  treat  of 
our  journey,  namely,  the  passage  of  the  Simplon.     The  crossing  of  that  mountain  is 


C.     H.     SPURGEON  S     AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  375 

an  era  in  any  man's  life.  That  splendid  road  was  carried  over  the  Alps  by  Napoleon, 
not  for  the  good  of  his  species,  but  in  order  that  he  might  transport  his  cannon  to 
fight  against  Austria.  Sir  James  Mackintosh  described  the  Simplon  road  as  'the 
most  wonderful  of  useful  works.'  There  are  other  works  which  may  contain  more 
genius,  and  some  which  may  seem  to  be  more  grand  ;  but  this,  in  the  midst  of  the 
rugged  stern  simplicity  of  nature,  seemed  to  say,  '  Man  is  little,  but  over  God's 
greatest  works  man  can  find  a  pathway,  and  no  dangers  can  confine  his  ambition.' 
Where  the  rock  was  so  steep  that  the  road  could  not  be  made  by  any  other  means, 
workmen  were  hung  down  from  the  top  in  cradles,  and  they  chipped  a  groove,  and 
thus  carried  the  road  along  the  precipitous  face  of  the  rock  ;  frequently,  too,  it  was 
made  to  run  through  a  huge  tunnel  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  On  and  on  we  went  up  the 
enormous  height  until  we  came  to  the  region  of  perpetual  frost  and  snow.  There 
one  could  make  snowballs  in  the  height  of  summer,  and  o-ather  ice  in  abundance.  On 
the  top  of  the  mountain  stands  the  hospice  ;  there  were  some  four  or  five  monks,  who 
came  out  and  asked  us  to  enter  ;  we  did  so,  and  would  honour  the  religious  feeling 
which  dictates  such  constant  hospitality.  We  were  shown  into  a  very  nice  room, 
where  there  was  cake  and  wine  ready,  and  if  we  had  chosen  to  order  it,  meat, 
soup,  and  anything  we  liked  to  have,  and  nothing  to  pay.  They  entertain  any 
traveller,  and  he  is  expected  to  pay  nothing  whatever  for  his  refreshment  ;  of 
course,  no  one  who  could  afford  it  would  go  away  without  putting  something  into  the 
poor-bo.x.  It  pleased  me  to  find  that  they  were  Augustinian  monks  because,  next  to 
Calvin,  I  love  Augustine.  I  feel  that  Augustine's  works  were  the  great  mine  out  of 
which  Calvin  dug  his  mental  wealth  ;  and  the  Augustinian  monks,  in  their  acts  of 
charity,  seemed  to  say,  '  Our  master  was  a  teacher  of  grace,  and  we  will  practise  it, 
and  give  to  all  comers  whatsoever  they  shall  need,  without  money  and  without  price.' 
Those  monks  are  worthy  of  great  honour  ;  there  they  are,  spending  the  best  and 
noblest  period  of  their  lives  on  the  top  of  a  bleak  and  barren  mountain,  that  they 
may  minister  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor.  They  go  out  in  the  cold  nights,  and 
bring  in  those  that  are  frostbitten  ;  they  dig  them  out  from  under  the  snow,  simply 
that  they  may  serve  God  by  helping  their  fellow-men.  I  pray  God  to  bless  the  good 
works  of  these  monks  of  the  Augustinian  Order,  and  may  you  and  I  carry  out  the 
spirit  of  Augustine,  which  is  the  true  spirit  of  Christ,  the  spirit  of  love,  the  spirit  of 
charity,  the  spirit  which  loves  truth,  and  the  spirit  which  loves  man,  and  above  all, 
loves  the  Man  Christ  Jesus  !  We  never  need  fear,  with  our  strong  doctrines,  and 
the  spirit  of  our  Master  in  us,  that  we  shall  be  carried  away  by  the  heresies  which 
continually  arise,  and  which  would  deceive,  if  it  were  possible,  even  the  very  elect. 

"  If  any  of  you  can  save  up  money — after  this  Tabernacle  is  paid  for, — to  go  to 
Switzerland,  you  will  never  regret  it,  and  it  need  not  be  expensive  to  you.  If  you  do 
not  find  your  head  grow  on  both  sides,  and  have  to  put  your  hands  up,  and  say,  '  I 


376  c.    H.    spurgeon's   autobiography. 

feel  as  if  my  brains  are  straining  with  their  growth,'  I  do  not  think  you  have  many 
brains  to  spare.  As  I  have  stood  in  the  midst  of  those  mountains  and  valleys,  I 
have  wished  I  could  carry  you  all  there.  I  cannot  reproduce  to  you  the  thoughts 
that  then  passed  through  my  mind  ;  I  cannot  describe  the  storms  we  saw  below  us 
when  we  were  on  the  top  of  the  hill  ;  I  cannot  tell  you  about  the  locusts  that  came 
in  clouds,  and  devoured  everything  before  them  ;  time  would  utterly  fail  me  to  speak 
of  all  the  wonders  of  God  which  we  saw  in  nature  and  in  providence.  One  more 
remark,  and  I  have  done.  If  you  cannot  travel,  remember  that  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  more  glorious  than  all  else  that  you  could  ever  see.  Get  a  view  of  Christ, 
and  you  have  seen  more  than  mountains,  and  cascades,  and  valleys,  and  seas  can  ever 
show  you.  Thunders  may  bring  their  sublimest  uproar,  and  lightnings  their  awful 
glory  ;  earth  may  give  its  beauty,  and  stars  their  brightness  ;  but  all  these  put 
together  can  never  rival  Him,  of  whom  Dr.  Watts  so  well  sang, — 

'"Now  to  the  Lord  a  noble  song! 
Awake,  my  soul,  awake,  my  tongue ; 
Hosannah  to  th'  Eternal  Name, 
And  all  His  boundless  love  proclaim. 

See  where  it  shines  in  Jesus   face,  •  ' 

The  brightest  image  of  His  grace; 

God,  in  the  person  of  His  Son, 

Has  all  His  mightiest  works  outdone. 

Tlie  spacious  earth  and  spreading  flood 
Proclaim  the  wise  and  powerful  God, 
And  Thy  rich  glories  from  afar 
Sparkle  in  every  rolling  star. 

But  in  His  looks  a  glory  stands, 
The  noblest  labour  of  Thine  hands  ; 
The  pleasing  lustre  of  His  eyes 
Outshines  the  wonders  of  the  skies. 

Grace!  'tis  a  sweet,  a  charming  theme; 
•      IMy  thoughts  rejoice  at  Jesus'  Name : 
Ye  angels,  dwell  upon  the  sound, 
Ye  heavens,  reflect  it  to  the  ground!"' 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  a  total  of  ^1,050  was  added  to  the  Tabernacle 
Building  Fund.  During  the  time  that  the  great  sanctuary  was  being  completed, 
the  remainder  of  the  amount  required  was  raised,  so  that  the  first  Sabbath  services 
in  the  new  house  of  prayer  were  conducted  in  a  building  entirely  free  from  debt. 


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